Application in Food Industry

Substances that are added to food to maintain or improve the safety, freshness, taste, texture, or appearance of food are known as food additives. Some food additives have been in use for centuries for preservation – such as salt (in meats such as bacon or dried fish), sugar (in marmalade), or sulfur dioxide (in wine).

Food additives can be derived from plants, animals, or minerals, or they can be synthetic. They are added intentionally to food to perform certain technological purposes which consumers often take for granted. There are several thousand food additives used, the food additives can be classified into 3 broad categories based on their function.

Flavouring agents: Which are added to food to improve aroma or taste – make up the greatest number of additives used in foods.

Enzyme preparations:  Which are a type of additive that may or may not end up in the final food product.

Other additives: Which are used for a variety of reasons, such as preservation, colouring, and sweetening.