Substances in Food Additives

Every day we need food to get energy (carbohydrates and fats) and to the growth of
new cells, replacing the damaged cells (protein). In addition, we also need food as a
nutrient source and regulator support processes in the body, namely vitamins, minerals,
and water. The applicability of a healthy diet does not depend on the size, shape, color,
taste, aroma, or freshness, but rely on nutrients that are needed by the body. A food is said
to be healthy when pregnant and one or more substances that are needed by the body.
Every day, we need to consume a variety of foods so that all inds of substances needed by
the body are met. This is not necessarily due to a variety of foods contain all inds of
nutrients needed by the body each day. !o that people are attracted to eating a meal, we
often need to add e"tra ingredients to the food we were. #e can estimate that a person
would not have the appetite to eat vegetable soup that is not salted or green bean soup that
does not wear sugar.
In this case, salt and sugar including additional material. $oth include the type of
food additives. Additives not only salt and sugar, but there are many other chemicals. %ood
additives are added and mi"ed in food processing time to improve the appearance of food,
improve taste, enrich the nutrient content, so do not eep perishable foods, and so forth.
&ote the images below.
The materials belong to the substance of food additives should be able to' (.
Improve the nutritional )uality or food* +. ,aes food loo more attractive* -. Improve the
taste of food* and .. maing food to be more durable or not )uicly stale and rotten.
&utrient additives not only substances intentionally added to food processing currently in
progress, but also include substances that enter accidentally and mi"ed with food. Inclusion
of this additive substances may occur during processing, pacaging, or are carried away by
the chemicals used. Essence of food additives can be grouped into two classes, namely' (.
!ubstance additives derived from natural sources, such as lecithin and citric acid* +
synthetic substances from chemical additives which have properties similar to a natural
ingredient, good chemical composition or properties / functions, such as amil acetate and
ascorbic acid. $ased on the function, either natural or synthetic substances can be
classified as a nutrient additive dyes, sweeteners, preservatives, and flavor. Essence of
additives in food products is usually listed on the pacage.
1. Substance Dyes
0iving color to the food is generally intended to mae food loo more fresh and
interesting so that the unappetizing to eat. 1yes commonly used as food additives are' a.
&atural dyes, made from e"tracts of certain plant parts, such as the green color of su2i
leaves, the yellow color of turmeric, as shown below.
!hown in the picture from the pieces of a chocolate brown color, red color of tea
leaves, red and yellow colors of carrots. As the number of choices of colors of natural dyes
is limited so do efforts to synthesize dyes suitable for food from chemicals. b. !ynthetic
dyes, made from chemicals. 3ompared with natural dyes, synthetic dyes have several
advantages, which have more color choices, easy to store, and more durable.
!ome synthetic dyes could have given the same color, but not necessarily all of
these dyes suitable for use as additives in foods and beverages. 4eep in mind that synthetic
dyes were not for the food and beverage (te"tile dyes) can be harmful to health if it enters
the body because it is a carcinogen (causes cancer). Therefore, you should be careful when
buying food or drin that uses colored dyes. 5ou have to be sure in advance that the dyes
are used as additives in foods or drins that are really coloring foods and beverages.
$ased on their solubility
properties, food dyes and dye grouped into
the lae. 1yes are colored substances
which foods are generally soluble in
water. 1ye usually sold in the maret in the form of powders, granules, pastes or li)uids.
6ae is a combination of dyes and dye bases are covered by a particular substance.
$ecause it is not soluble in water then this group of dyes suitable for dyeing products that
should not be e"posed to water or products containing fats and oils.
2. Substance Sweeteners
!weetening agent serves to add a sweet taste to foods and beverages. !weetening
agents can be grouped into two, namely' a. &atural sweeteners. This sweetener can be
obtained from plants, such as coconut, sugar cane, and sugar. In addition, natural
sweeteners can also be obtained from fruits and honey. &atural sweeteners also serves as a
source of energy. If we consume e"cessive natural sweeteners, we would run the ris of
obesity. 7eople who are already overweight, the body should avoid foods or beverages that
contain natural sweeteners too high. b. Artificial or synthetic sweeteners. Artificial
sweeteners cannot be digested by the human body that does not function as an energy
source.
Therefore, people who have diabetes (diabetes mellitus) usually consume synthetic
sweeteners as a substitute for a natural sweetener. Artificial sweeteners have a sweetness
level. higher than the natural sweetener. 3yclamate salts have sweetness -8 times higher
than the sweetness of sucrose. 9owever, the sweetness of sodium and calcium salts of
saccharin has :88 times the sweetness of sucrose sweetness compared with (8;.
3. Substance Preservatives
7reservatives are substances that are intentionally added
to foods and beverages that food and beverages are still
fresh, smell and taste does not change, or protect food from
damage caused by rot or e"posed to bacteria / fungi. 1ue to the addition of additives, a
variety of food and beverages consumed can still get a certain period, perhaps a wee, a
month, a year, or even several years.
In food or beverages are pacaged and sold in shops or supermarets usually listed
e"piration date, the date of the show until when food or drin can still be consumed
without harm to health. As well as dyes and sweeteners, preservatives can be grouped into
natural preservatives and artificial preservatives.
a. &atural preservatives derived from nature, for e"ample, sugar (sucrose) which
can be used to preserve fruits (candied) and table salt which can be used to preserve fish. b.
!ynthetic or artificial preservatives is a synthesis of chemicals. %or e"ample, vinegar can
be used as a preservative picles and sodium propionate or calcium propionate used to
preserve bread and pastries.
!alt sodium benzoate, citric acid, and tartaric acid is also commonly used to
preserve food. In addition to these substances, there are also other preservatives, namely
sodium nitrate or saltpeter (&a&<-) which serves to eep the display remains red meat.
7hosphoric acid is commonly added to some beverages also include preservatives. In
addition to preservatives are safe for consumption, there is also a preservative should not
be used to preserve food. 7reservatives are intended, among them formaldehyde is
commonly used to preserve ob2ects, such as a corpse or a dead animal. The use of
preservative formalin to preserve food, such as meatballs, anchovies, tofu, and other types
of food could pose health riss.
In addition to formaldehyde, there is also a preservative should not be used to
preserve food. 7reservatives in )uestion is bora" preservative. This preservative or
disinfectant is effective in inhibiting the growth of microbes that cause food decay and can
improve the te"ture of the food maing it more supple. $ora" should only be used for non=
food industry, such as in the manufacture of glass, paper, wood preservatives, and
ceramics. If bora" consumed in certain levels, can cause a number of adverse effects on
health, such as' a. disorders of the nervous system, idneys, liver, and sin* b. symptoms of
bleeding in the stomach and stimulation of central nervous disorders* c. the occurrence of
complications in the brain and liver* and d. cause death if the idney containing bora" as
much as -=> grams.