C1bL9 Food Additives

Key Words

Additives -  chemicals added to food.

Citric acid - an acid found in citrus fruits that gives them their tangy taste.

E-number - A unique identifier for each additive.

Tartrazine - A yellow-orange food colour.

Toxic - poisonous, leading to short or long term harm.

Grade E

Food manufacturers put additives into food to make it look or taste nice.  Some additives are natural, but many are man-made chemicals that can be toxic.  All additives have an E-number to show that it has passed food safety tests laid down by the European Union.

• Citric acid (E330) is found in citrus fruits like oranges and lemons.  It is natural.
• Tartrazine (E102) is made from distilled coal tar.  Delicious!

Food packaging is required by law to show all the additives.  The cheaper the food, the more additives it contains.

Organic food is made from organic ingredients, but may not be free from additives.

Grade C

Additives can be classed as:

• Anti-oxidants - preventing food from reacting with oxygen and spoiling.

• Colours - make food brighter and more appealing.

• Thickeners - makes sauces thicker.

• Stabilisers - stop bad tastes occurring if food is stored.

• Flavourings - give food particular flavours, for example ethyl ethanoate gives the taste to pear drops.

• Preservatives - stops food from going bad.

• Sweeteners - makes food sweeter.

Not all of these chemicals are harmful.  Ham is pork preserved in salt.  Citric acid is a natural chemical from lemons.

However some additives are quite obnoxious, for example, the preservatives sodium glutamate and sodium benzoate.  Sweeteners like aspartame and acesulphame interfere with brain function.  These nasty substances are found in "low calorie" or "tooth friendly" drinks.

Grade A

The Sudan dyes can be used for colouring all sorts of different chemicals like petrol, shoe wax, and floor polish.  And they have been found in some foodstuffs imported from outside the European Union.  They have been linked with cancers.  They can be present in food made in Europe, because the food company has sourced materials from less than scrupulous suppliers.

Tartrazine is a particularly nasty dye, and quite a powerful carcinogen.  It can make some children hyperactive, as well as causing asthmatic attacks, and migraines. 

The controversial sweetener aspartame (E951), shown above, is known also to make young people hyperactive and some people have linked it to brain tumours.   It was discovered quite by chance in 1965 by an American chemist, J M Schlatter, working for the pharmaceutical company, G D Searle.  While working on an anti-ulcer drug, he licked his fingers and discovered the sweet taste.  Not good laboratory practice.

In the exam, you will need to argue about its use as a sweetener (180 times sweeter than sugar) against its risks.  Many people think it absurd that teeth should be "protected" by a material that poisons the brain.  Why not have a glass of water (both tooth-friendly and brain-friendly)?  But that would undermine the profits of several big businesses.