Food Additives Course Paper Sample

In modern society, food additives are the basis for the development of modern food processing technology. The safety and effectiveness of food additives are the focus of attention from all walks of life. Below are the food additive papers I compiled for your reference.

? Food Additive Paper Part 1: Problems and Countermeasures in the Application of Food Additives

Abstract analyzes the problems existing in the application of food additives and proposes countermeasures. Promote the rational use of food additives and provide reference for ensuring food safety in my country.

Keywords food additives; application; countermeasures; food safety

Food additives are chemically synthesized or natural substances added to food to improve food quality, preservation and processing technology. According to different sources, they can be divided into two categories: natural food additives and chemically synthesized food additives [1-2]. Food additives are increasingly used in the food industry because they can improve food quality and grade and produce better economic and social benefits. However, in recent years, with the frequent occurrence of incidents such as Sudan Red and Melamine, the safety of food additives has attracted more and more attention.

1 Existing problems

1.1 Irregular dosage

The phenomenon of random use of food additives without complying with national standards during food processing is quite prominent. What stands out is the phenomenon of overuse. On the one hand, some manufacturers lack food safety awareness and ignore the dosage of food additives; some manufacturers have simple and outdated equipment, lack accurate measuring equipment, and lack production technicians; the dosage of food additives in pre-packaged products is inaccurate or even inaccurate. mark. On the other hand, in the catering industry, standards for non-packaged food additives are missing [3]. The "Food Additive Production Supervision and Administration Regulations" promulgated and implemented since June 2010 do not have dosage specifications for products made on-site and with small output. For example, prepackaged croissants, puff pastry buns, and square buns in bakeries all have an ingredient list. In addition to wheat flour, sugar, butter, eggs and other raw materials, it also says "bread improver", followed by The ingredients are often indicated in parentheses - starch, diacetyl tartaric acid monoglyceride, vitamin C, enzyme preparation - but the dosage is not clear.

1.2 Use beyond the scope

In the draft Food Safety Law, it is clarified that food producers should use food additives in accordance with the provisions of food safety standards on the variety, scope of use, and dosage of food additives. , chemical substances other than food additives or other substances harmful to human health shall not be used in food production. But in fact, products such as white block, malachite green, Sudan red, etc. are widely used in food production.

1.3 Use of expired and inferior food additives

The effectiveness of food additives that have expired will be greatly reduced, and chemical reactions may occur during long-term storage, producing toxic and harmful substances, which will affect the added food. Safety; inferior food additives are not only impure products, but also contain harmful substances such as mercury, lead and other heavy metals added to food, which will seriously affect food safety.

1.4 Repeated and multi-step use of food additives

Generally there are two situations. One is that after a single additive is added to a certain food, a complex additive is added due to other functions. Food additives, and compound additives may be added repeatedly due to the confidentiality of their formulas and the inconvenience of disclosure [4]. For example, a certain food preservative is used in soy sauce to ensure the preservative of soy sauce. However, if soy sauce is used in a certain canned food, the preservative is brought into the canned food. This canned food may not be approved for use. This kind of food preservative, or the limit of this kind of food preservative is low. The canned food manufacturer does not know that the preservative is used in the raw soy sauce, and if it is added, it exceeds the limit. The other is that it is added in multiple stages, such as the flour whitening agent benzoyl peroxide that is allowed to be used by the state. In reality, flour mills add it, sellers add it, and small workshops that produce steamed buns add it, resulting in the final product. The whitening agent seriously exceeded the standard.

2 Countermeasures

2.1 Unify food additive standards, strengthen the government’s leading role, and timely release authoritative food information

Led by the government, accelerate the improvement of my country’s food additive standard system , improve the current situation of "multi-headed management standards formulation and policy coming from multiple departments", implement supervision from an overall and systematic perspective, enable effective communication between departments on the connection of law enforcement, and clarify the quality supervision, health, safety and other departments and society The responsibilities of supervision and the internal management responsibilities of production, sales, and user units form a supervisory atmosphere. Strengthen research on the safety of food additives, unify the provisions on food additives in the current "Food Hygiene Law" with the "Measures for the Hygiene Management of Food Additives" and "Hygienic Standards for Food Additive Production Enterprises", study and formulate specific testing methods for food additives, Standardize production and use, improve the management model of food additives in food production and operation units, establish a mechanism for regular evaluation of food additives, timely supplement and eliminate varieties of food additives, and timely release authoritative information [5].

2.2 The health department must effectively and strictly perform regulatory duties

The health administrative department should strengthen the supervision of food additive production and use units, urge enterprises to use food additives in accordance with the law and scientifically, and establish and improve internal management system and internal self-inspection mechanism. We should focus on improving the inspection and testing level of county-level health supervision agencies, increase the intensity of sampling inspections on the use of food additives, and expand coverage. In particular, it is necessary to strengthen the supervision of workshop-style catering enterprises, and provide technical guidance to operators of non-packaged food to clarify the scope, usage and dosage of additives.

2.3 Increase research on food additive monitoring technology

At present, my country’s monitoring technology for food additives is relatively backward. The accuracy and speed of monitoring need to be further improved, and high-tech technologies need to be sought. Monitoring technology to adapt to the monitoring and development requirements of food additives. Under the current circumstances, multiple departments need to work together to establish a coordinated and coordinated monitoring system, integrate food safety supervision and testing resources, and update testing equipment. At the same time, relevant departments should further improve the standards and regulations for the use of food additives based on monitoring technology and the development of food additives. , standardize the use of food additives and improve food safety [6].

2.4 Increase the publicity on the safety of production, operation and use of food additives

Strengthen the training of production operators, and implement a training and certification access system. By organizing training for food and food additive manufacturers and distributors, we can improve the awareness of enterprises and sellers about the hazards of illegally added food additives, so that they can effectively assume the responsibility of the "first responsible person". At the same time, we must use newspapers, TV media, the Internet and other publicity carriers to promote consumers, improve their awareness of prevention, strengthen their knowledge of food additives, conduct more comparative analysis when purchasing, and consciously resist the purchase of inferior food. .

3 References

[1] Yan Bingzong. Development Trend of Edible Colorants[C]∥The 8th China International Food Additives and Ingredients Exhibition and the 11th National Food Additives Collection of academic papers of the Production and Application Technology Exhibition. Beijing: China Food Additive Production and Application Industry Association, 2004.

[2] Ren Zhen. Interpretation of Food Additives[J]. Supervision and Selection, 2004(9): B016-B019.

[3] Zhang Caihong, Cheng Rongxian. Several relationships should be dealt with when implementing green food development strategy [J]. Henan Agricultural Sciences, 2003(3):16.

[4] Zhang Shenju, Yuan Zhong, Song Chengbin. Development and safety management of genetically modified foods [J]. Henan Agricultural Sciences, 2005(11):111-113.

[5] Zhao Tonggang. Food additives Function and safety control [J]. China Food Additives, 2010 (3): 45-50.

[6] Regulations on the Supervision and Management of Food Additive Production [J]. China Quality and Technical Supervision, 2010( 6):22-25. Food Additive Paper Part 2: Scientific Understanding of Food Additives

Abstract: This article starts from people’s misunderstanding of food additives in food safety incidents and scientifically explains the definition of food additives. , introduced its role in the development of the modern food industry, and discussed how to strengthen the management of non-food additives, strengthen the production and management of food additives, strengthen the education of food industry operators, and educate nationals on food safety knowledge. Make food additives better serve the modern food industry.

Keywords: food additives; modern food industry; role

In recent years, food safety has attracted increasing attention due to the frequent occurrence of various food safety incidents. Just take 2008 as an example, from the incident of poisonous dumplings imported from Japan at the beginning of the year to the incident of artificial fresh red dates flowing into the Urumqi market, to the incident of melamine contaminating infant formula milk and causing a large number of infants and young children to suffer from kidney stones and even die. It has had a great impact nationwide and even globally, and has also had a serious impact on food-related industries. In almost every food safety incident, people will focus on certain special ingredients added to food as the culprit. Food additives have become the target of public criticism again and again. So is all this caused by food additives?

1. Correctly understand the definition of food additives

According to the "Food Hygiene Law of the People's Republic of China" (1995) ) regulations: Food additives refer to chemically synthesized or natural substances added to food to improve the quality, color, aroma and taste of food, as well as to meet the needs of preservatives and processing techniques. It also stipulates that food additives are added to enhance nutritional content. Natural or synthetic food additives in food that belong to the range of natural nutrients are called "nutritional fortifiers". Therefore, nutritional supplements obviously also belong to the category of food additives.

In the process of food processing and raw material processing, in order to make it proceed smoothly, it is also possible to apply certain auxiliary substances. These substances themselves have nothing to do with food, such as filter aids, clarification, lubrication, defilming, decolorization, peeling, extraction solvents and fermentation nutrients, etc. They should generally be removed from the finished food and should not become components of the final food, or simply There are residues. These substances are specifically called food processing aids.

There are strict management procedures for food additives both internationally and domestically. For example, approval of a new food additive must undergo multiple toxicological evaluations. Only when it is confirmed that it does not cause harm to the human body can it be approved and released by multiple national departments. The varieties of food additives that can be included in the use list have been carefully determined after numerous experiments over a long period of time and passed five tests and six generals. The scope of use and the maximum limit of use are strictly stipulated. As long as the regulations are followed When used, the safety of food additives is guaranteed [1].

The melamine mentioned in the incident mentioned in this article is by no means a food additive, but a chemical raw material that should not exist in milk powder. The melamine in the milk powder in question this time was illegally added. It is a harmful substance and any amount of melamine found in milk powder is illegal.

Nowadays, the method of testing protein is to estimate the protein by testing the nitrogen in it. In order to make huge profits, some criminals add melamine to milk powder. Melamine contains nitrogen and is used to fake the increased protein content during testing. Therefore, adding melamine is to cover up defects in the quality of food raw materials, which is illegal adulteration. Melamine plays the role of adulteration.

2. The role of food additives in the development of modern food industry

The food additive industry develops with the development of the food industry. It can be said that without food additives, there would be no modern food. industry?. The application of food additives in food can effectively improve the quality, color, aroma, taste and shape of food, as well as extend the storage period of food. In order to prevent certain food additives that should not be added from causing harm to the human body, the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) were established internationally in 1955 and 1962 respectively. ? (The latter was renamed the Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants Regulations, or CCFAC, in 1988; it was renamed CCFA in 2006, with China as the host country), focusing on the safety issues of food additives and making recommendations to relevant countries and organizations , thus making food additives gradually embark on the track of healthy development [2]. According to relevant data, there are currently more than 25,000 varieties of food additives in the world, 80% of which are spices. There are more than 5,000 commonly used additive varieties. There are about 3,000-4,000 directly used categories, and the more common ones are 600-600. 1000 kinds.

In large-scale, modern food production, the correct and standardized use of food additives has the following benefits: (1) Increase the preservation performance of food, extend the shelf life, and prevent spoilage caused by microorganisms and oxidation. Deterioration; (2) Improve the color, aroma and texture of food such as pigments, flavors, various condiments, thickeners and emulsifiers, etc.; (3) Conducive to food processing operations and adapt to mechanized and continuous large-scale production . For example, gluconolactone is used as tofu coagulant; (4) Maintain and improve the nutritional and health value of food. Such as nutritional supplements, food functional factors, etc.

The reason why many people are opposed to food additives now is that they are afraid that food using additives will be unnutritious and unsafe. However, reasonable food additives can adjust the nutritional structure and achieve balanced nutrition and supplementary nutrition. For example, for different consumer groups, calcium powder, vitamins, functional factors, etc. can be added to flour to strengthen the nutritional function of noodles; the soy sauce iron-adding project and iodized salt project previously implemented in our country all added essential nutrients to food. Best example of ingredients.

3. How to make food additives better serve the modern food industry

It should be noted that with the development of our country’s food industry, our country’s food additive industry will also rapidly expand in the next few years. With the development of food industry, more and more food additive products will be used in the food industry. This is an objective fact. What needs attention is that although food additives are used in small amounts in food, they have a great impact on the quality of food. In particular, many food additives are toxic, unqualified and improperly used, which will have an impact on human health. It is not a small matter, but a major matter related to the people's dietary hygiene.

1. Strengthen the management of strictly prohibiting the use of non-food additives in food

Non-food additives refer to those that have been proven not to be used in food, but can improve a certain function of the food. Substances. Most of these substances are additives used in a certain industry and have certain or great harm to the human body, such as melamine, sodium chloride, Sudan red, art green, poppy shells, etc. Take Diaobai Kuan (also known as Diaobai powder) as an example. It is an oxidant that can oxidize pigments in flour, rice noodles, soy products and other foods. However, it is very toxic. If a normal human body consumes 10g, it will have serious consequences. , but in the special investigation and prosecution by relevant national departments, many illegal uses were discovered.

2. Strengthen and improve the management of the production and application of food additives

Food additives are still an emerging industry in our country. It is different from other industries and is a major matter related to people's dietary hygiene. . The additive itself is not terrible. What is terrible is that it is used beyond the limit and abused by criminals. In developed countries abroad, the production and use of food additives are strictly regulated.

For example, the United States places food additives in an equally important position as drug management. Its food additive regulations are relatively comprehensive and rigorous, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for implementation. The penalties for illegal production and use of food additives in the United States are quite severe, and the fate of illegal companies and business owners is unimaginable. However, some producers in our country do not have strict awareness of laws and regulations, which can easily lead to serious consequences. For example, there are serious problems in the production and use of flour whitening agents. Therefore, we should speed up and improve the formulation and management of food additive regulations. In particular, the production and use of food additives should be managed centrally, rather than managed by multiple departments. There should be specialized management agencies to achieve strict supervision and strict control [3] .

3. Strengthen the education, training and management of operators in the food industry

At present, our country’s requirements for those working in the food industry are basically limited to applying for “health certificates”, which means ensuring that they are free of infectious diseases. At the level of employment, there are no more stringent requirements for employment, there is a lack of education and training in food safety, and they know little about food laws and regulations. As a result, they only rely on their experience in food processing to add certain Some food additives without scientific calculations and product testing. If such food flows to the market, it will definitely affect the health of the people. Especially for food production companies, if they can continuously emphasize the "conscience standards" of using food additives, strictly control the use of additives in accordance with hygienic standards, and reduce the use of some additives through research and development and improve food processing technology, then food safety issues will There will be less and less.

4. Strengthen national food safety knowledge training

People’s panic about food additives stems from the fact that they do not really understand it. Food additives can be used in food processing as long as the food raw materials can meet the requirements. It is best not to use them, but do not overexaggerate the disadvantages of food additives. For Americans, the concept of food additives is actually exactly the same as other food ingredients and is not objectionable at all. The growth rate of natural food additives in the United States has even reached 10%, which is much higher than its economic growth rate. Recently, in order to ensure the sales of their products, some food manufacturers in our country have irresponsibly put up slogans such as "This product does not contain any food additives" to mislead consumers; some media do not respect scientific evidence when encountering food safety incidents. In order to respond to consumers' fears, other companies have to follow suit and make statements. These practices have caused the public to have a wrong understanding of food additives and objectively hindered their development. Therefore, our country should strengthen food safety knowledge training for citizens through various channels.

References

[1]Hu Yi. Correct understanding of food additives promotes the healthy development of the food industry. China Food Quality Report. 2008,11,28.

[2] Song Xuelian. Food additive standards need to be in line with international standards. People's Daily Online - China Economic Weekly. 2008,10,06.

[3] Si Bo. Food additives are the foundation for the development of the modern food industry. Food Additive Paper Part 3: The Effect of Food Additives

Abstract: People’s daily living standards are constantly improving, and with that, people’s life requirements and tastes are getting higher and higher. The simple satiety of food can no longer satisfy people. The sensory stimulation given by the color, aroma, and flavor of food is receiving more and more widespread attention. Therefore, food additives emerged as the times require and have been widely used. However, food additives not only bring visual and taste enjoyment, but also bring many hazards. This article briefly introduces this aspect, hoping to be helpful to future research work.

Keywords: Hazards of food additive application

Food additives are everywhere in our lives: emulsifiers in instant noodles to improve the water absorption of the dough; thickeners in ham sausages And flavoring agents make ham more fragrant and tender; preservatives in mooncakes can keep them fresh? Salt is the most familiar and common additive to us. If there is no salt in our lives, what will our lives be like?! Food has no taste at all! So, it can be seen that food additives have become an indispensable part of our lives.

1. Introduction to food additives

Synthetic or natural substances used to improve the quality, color, aroma and taste of food and added to food for the needs of antisepsis, preservation and processing technology It's a food additive. Food additives can improve the color, aroma, taste and other qualities of food, and can also prevent food from deteriorating to a certain extent. It is an integral part of the contemporary food processing industry. At present, there are 23 categories of food additives in my country with more than 2,000 varieties, including acidity regulators, anticaking agents, defoaming agents, antioxidants, bleaching agents, leavening agents, colorants, color protectants, enzyme preparations, and flavor enhancers. , nutritional fortifiers, preservatives, sweeteners, thickeners, spices, etc. Food additives can be classified according to their sources, functions and safety. According to the source, they can be divided into natural food additives and artificial chemical synthesis additives. According to the function, they are divided into 22 types such as preservatives, bleaching agents, colorants, etc., and according to safety, they are divided into three categories: A, B, and C.

2. The main functions of food additives

In order to ensure the quality of food, during food processing, appropriate food additives must be selected in appropriate amounts based on the characteristics of the products to be processed. There are many types of food additives with different functions. Food additives can play the following important roles:

2.1 Improve and enhance the color, flavor and sensory indicators of food on the basis of the original food. High-quality food is not only extremely nutritious, but also often delicious and delicious. At the same time, the color, aroma, taste, shape and texture of food are also important indicators for measuring food quality. However, during the processing of food, in most cases there are physical processes such as grinding, crushing, heating, and pressurization, which can easily lead to fading and discoloration of food, and even the inherent aroma of some foods is mostly lost. Moreover, after a processing process, the food's soft, hard, crispy, tough and other taste requirements can hardly achieve the desired effect at the same time.

2.2 Maintain or even improve the nutritional value of food. Oxidation of food will directly reduce its nutritional value. In addition, in order to make the food more nutritious, various nutrients can be added to the food, such as various vitamins or calcium. Food preservatives and antioxidant preservatives in the food industry can reduce and prevent oxidative deterioration of food, and can well maintain the nutrition of food. Appropriate nutrients added to food can greatly increase and improve the nutritional value of food. This provides a good food choice for people with malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies. It can be used in a targeted manner, which is of great significance for maintaining nutritional balance and improving health.

2.3 Preserve and transport food to extend the shelf life of food. In a natural environment, there are certain time and environmental restrictions when food is placed. Air, moisture and temperature will all affect the quality of the food. Moreover, long-distance food transportation is extremely difficult in natural environments. For example, if basic measures for preservation and preservation of fresh food and high-protein food are not taken, they will easily spoil and become waste products after they leave the factory, making it difficult for people to use them. Various preservatives, antioxidants and preservatives solve this series of problems very well. This type of food additives ensure that food can maintain its proper quality and quality during the shelf life, enable food to be transported to other areas after processing to meet the needs of more people, and bring great convenience to people's lives.

2.4 Make existing food varieties richer and more diverse. On today's food shelves, there are no longer just grains, oils, fruits and vegetables, meat, eggs and milk, but also a wide range of foods that are processed together with these raw materials and food additives. For example, canned food, sausages, juice, cakes, etc. Various food raw materials can become new food colors by selecting appropriate processing techniques and adding appropriate amounts of food additives according to their varieties and tastes. At the same time, different food additives often come in different colors and varieties, making our daily lives more colorful.

2.5 Make food technician operations easier and meet the needs of different groups of people. During the processing of food, it is inevitable that there will be practices such as lubrication, defoaming, filter aid, stabilization and coagulation. It is almost impossible to carry out these processing details without food additives.

In real life, some people have special requirements for food. For example, diabetics cannot eat sucrose, but if they want to satisfy their sweet needs, they can add various appropriate amounts of sweeteners to sugar-free foods, such as Xylitol, sorbitol, etc.; During the growth and development of infants, various nutrients are needed to strengthen the body, so formula milk powder containing iron, zinc, calcium and other minerals and vitamins has been developed.

2.6 Steady improvement in economic and social benefits. Various additives such as stabilizers, coagulants, and flocculants used in the food production process can reduce raw material consumption to varying degrees, increase product output, fundamentally reduce production costs, and achieve good economic benefits. In addition, after the use of food additives, due to the increase in food colors, people's purchasing rate and purchase volume have increased, and obvious economic and social benefits have also been achieved.

Food additives have greatly promoted the development of the food industry and are known as the soul of the modern food industry. This is mainly because it brings many benefits to the food industry. Preservation, increasing color, etc. are all surprising effects brought by food additives. By using these food additives, our lives can be more colorful, companies can have better profits, and society can move forward better. Food additives are one of the fields with the most active R&D and rapid development and improvement in the food industry today. Researchers are working hard to improve the purity and use efficacy of food additives as much as possible, such as enzyme preparations, the vitality and use of many products. There are new developments in efficacy and so on every year or even every quarter.

3. Negative effects of food additives

Under normal circumstances, a small amount of food additives can achieve the expected and ideal effects. The standard dosage of additives used in food is very small, generally controlled between 0.1~0.019g/kg. Because a large amount of food additives can have a negative impact on people's body functions and even endanger their lives. Even the most natural food additive, salt, will have a negative impact on our physiological balance once too much is added to food.

For chemically synthesized food additives, their effects are more significant, but the harm caused by overdose is also extremely serious. In recent years, accidents caused by excessive food additives have occurred frequently, which has to attract our great attention. Accidents caused by preservatives are even more common. For example, sulfur dioxide, nitrite, etc.

Sulfur dioxide substances can reduce and fade colored substances by generating sulfurous acid (a strong reducing agent) when oxidized, keeping food bright in color. It can also inhibit oxidase in food and prevent Food browning can also play a preservative role. Therefore, sulfur dioxide-based substances are commonly used as bleaching agents and preservatives in food processing. In fact, a small amount of sulfur dioxide entering the body will not cause any harm to the body, but excessive intake can cause gastrointestinal reactions, such as nausea and vomiting. In addition, it also affects calcium absorption, causing calcium loss in the body. Nitrite, a food additive commonly used in all countries around the world, is mainly used as a color-developing agent in the processing of meat products. It can keep meat (ham, sausage, etc.) bright and red in color and keep muscle fibers swollen. However, nitrite can produce nitrosamines, a strong carcinogen in meat products, and it is also a relatively toxic food additive. Ingestion of 0.2-0.5 grams can cause poisoning, and 3 grams can cause death. The list goes on and on.

Conclusion:

Food additives are a double-edged sword, and additives are indispensable in modern life. It has penetrated deeply into our lives. We cannot ignore its various excellent functions, nor can we be completely hostile to it because of the side effects it may bring to us, let alone talk about the discoloration of the medicine or stop eating due to choking. What we have to do is to know how to use its advantages to create a colorful life for us.

References:

[1] Li Ning. "The Hazards of Excessive Sulfur Dioxide in Food". "Health News" 2010-01-17