Additives refer to deliberate additions to a given substance. In this way, the term can be used quite broadly although it certainly has some very specific uses. Indeed, in the field of food, additives are elements that are added to a certain preparation for a specific purpose, a purpose that in general terms seeks to change some of the conditions of said preparation.. It is in this way that in any processed food we can see in the nutritional information that reference is made to different additives; We will also see, if we compare different foods, that some of these additives tend to be recurring.
Some common additives
Food today has very particular characteristics, characteristics that were undoubtedly unknown in the past. Indeed, until a few hundred years ago, there were few foods that could delay consumption; Today, on the other hand, we can see that there is a great offer in this sense, a circumstance that has both positive and negative aspects; This process is explained by the addition of different preservatives that slow down the decomposition much more than normal. The main additive in this sense is sodium, an element that was already used in the past but is currently known in greater depth with regard to its effects in various food preparations.. In this way, it can be seen that the use of sodium-based additives is quite frequent.
Another very common type of additive in the food industry is the colorant.. It is nothing more than a series of pigments that give a certain chlorination to food. It is important to say in this regard that they are safe for human consumption, at least in the quantities in which they are usually used. The dyes therefore have no other purpose than to give a certain visual aspect to the food, an aspect that generally tends to be pleasant.
Finally, reference should be made to flavorings, other additives widely used in the food industry. As its name indicates, its use is intended to generate that the food in question had some kind of particular odor, an odor that of course must be attractive.
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