 Americans spend
about ninety percent of their food budgets on processed foods,
which (unlike “whole” foods) have been treated in
some way after being harvested or butchered.i Almost
all of these processed foods contain food additives, substances
that are intentionally added to change the food in some way
before it is sold to consumers. These include flavorings that
enhance the way a food tastes, preservatives that extend a
food’s shelf life, and artificial colorings that change
the way it looks. Dietary supplements are also used to enhance
nutritional content, and packaging is even considered an
indirect food additive.
The Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible
for regulating the use of food additives, states that there are
more than 3,000 food additives currently cleared for use in the
United States.ii Although all of these have been
approved for human consumption, many food additives still pose a
threat to our health. For this and other reasons, it is always
better to purchase and consume whole foods, or foods that have
been minimally processed or treated.
Regulation and Categories
of Food Additives
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates and approves
all additives that are used in our food supply. The FDA breaks
them into three categories. “Indirect Food
Additives” include packaging materials such as paper,
plastic, cardboard and glue that come into contact with food.iv
“Direct Food Additives” include preservatives,
nutritional supplements, flavors and texturizers that are added
to food. “Color Additives” are used to alter or
enhance the color of a food product.
Preservatives
Preservatives generally fall into one of three categories: those
that act to prevent bacterial or fungal growth in foods, those
that prevent oxidation (which can lead to discoloration or
rancidity), and those that inhibit natural ripening processes in
fruits and vegetables.vi According to an article
written for the FDA, “it’s almost impossible to eat
food without preservatives added by manufacturers,” unless
you eat exclusively fresh food that you cook yourself.vii
And that’s only half the battle. Even fresh foods
often contain preservatives that are intended to keep them
looking “fresh.” Some common preservatives that
remain in wide use are propionic acid, which prevents mold in
bread; nitrates and nitrites, which prevent discoloration in
meat; and benzoates (most commonly sodium benzoate), which are
used primarily in acidic foods to prevent bacterial growth.viii
Flavorings
Flavorings are essentially chemicals that have been produced to
mimic the flavors and smells of foods.ix (Smell is
just as important as taste to food processors, because most of a
food’s flavor—up to ninety percent—actually
comes from its smell.)x Most processed foods rely on
these additives to restore the flavor that is lost in
processing, or create new flavors altogether. McDonald’s
Chicken McNuggets offers an ironic example: to the meat is
added, among other things, “chicken flavor.” xi
Common flavor additives such as sweeteners, fruit
flavors, butter or cheese flavors, and flavor enhancers are
commonly found in both natural and artificial forms. The
official difference between the two depends on the source of the
flavor and way the flavor was derived.xii Natural
flavors are frequently produced using just as much chemical
manipulation as artificial ones, and in some cases there is no
identifiable difference between a natural flavor and its
artificial equivalent. In fact, due to impurities that result
from some production processes, natural flavors can actually be
more hazardous than their corresponding artificial flavors.xiii
Food manufacturers often use natural flavors simply because the
term “natural” is more appealing to consumers.
Flavorings are so prevalent in today’s food supply
that, as of 2002, the industry producing them made about $1.4
billion annually.xiv Though some flavorings may be
safe in and of themselves, the fact remains that they are only
“necessary” when foods are made from low-quality
ingredients whose flavor alone is weak or unpalatable.
Are Food Additives Safe?
Once they are approved by the FDA, food additives are considered
to be fit for human consumption—but it’s important
to note that they might not be entirely safe. Some food and
color additives have been known to induce allergic reactions,
while others are suspected to cause cancer, asthma, or birth
defects. The FDA requires that all ingredients be listed on a
food’s label, but often additives will be listed as
“spices” or “artificial flavoring,”
making it impossible for consumers to determine what, exactly,
has been added to their food.xv
On the other hand, there are numerous additives that must be
listed explicitly on packaging because they can cause health
problems—and we still eat them. Take sulfites, for
instance, which are used to prevent discoloration in dried fruit
and seafood, and which the FDA estimates will cause allergic
reactions in one percent of the general population (and five
percent of those with asthma).xvi Sulfite allergies
can develop at any point in a person’s life, and the
ingestion of sulfites by those who are allergic can result in
acute respiratory problems that are potentially fatal.xvii
In the face of evidence linking sulfites to these reactions, the
FDA now restricts their use to certain types of food
preservation and requires that products containing sulfites be
labeled.xviii
Similarly, monosodium glutamate (MSG) must be identified
on food labels because of its potential for harm.xix
In some people it can cause headaches, nausea, weakness,
breathing difficulty, drowsiness, rapid heartbeat, and chest
pain.xx Recent research has pointed to damage from
eating nitrites, a common preservative used in cured meats such
as sausages, bacon and hot dogs. A 2006 study discovered that
people who regularly eat cured meats have a seventy-one percent
higher chance of getting lung disease than people who never eat
this kind of meat.xxi
There are also many cases in which approved additives once
thought to be safe have later been restricted or banned because
they were proven to harm human health. The artificial sweetener
cyclamate was used widely in the 1950’s and 1960’s
but was banned by the FDA in 1970 after research suggested that
it was carcinogenic.xxii The color additive Violet
No. 1 was used by the USDA to stamp inspection grades on beef
until it, too, was suspected of being a carcinogen and banned by
the FDA.xxiii And after years of use, a flavoring
called Safrole that was used in root beer, and a common
preservative called BHA were also found to cause cancer.xxiv
Animal Feed and Other
Concerns
Many substances are introduced into the food cycle during
production but aren’t officially known as food additives.
These include pesticides, antibiotics, and the heavy metals
added to industrial animal feed. These
kinds of “additives” are capable of making their way
into the food supply, but are not regulated with human
consumption in mind.
Some chemicals and undesirable substances aren’t
officially considered to be food additives but also enter our
food supply through processing techniques. For example, it has
become increasingly common to package foods—especially
meat—using “modified atmosphere packaging,”
which replaces oxygen in the food package with other gases such
as carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide.xxv While these
gases are not used in amounts sufficient to cause health
problems, critics point out that because the practice preserves
color but not spoilage, it may allow for spoiled meat to be sold
to unsuspecting consumers.xxvi
Many packaged meats are also injected with solutions
consisting of water, salt and chemicals to enhance flavor. A
meat industry study in 2004 found that forty-five percent of
pork, twenty-three percent of chicken, and sixteen percent of
beef in U.S. retail stores had been injected with such
solutions.xxvii Food
irradiation, in which radiation is used to disinfect and
preserve meats and dairy products, is another common practice
that may pose a human health threat.
What You Can Do
You can easily avoid food additives (and the health problems
that they may cause) by eating fresh, unprocessed foods grown by
local farmers. Since these foods are not transported thousands
of miles, they don't need to be packaged or pumped full of
preservatives. And since they are whole and unprocessed, they
won’t contain colorings or artificial flavors.
When shopping in conventional grocery stores, make sure
to check for additives on the ingredients label. In order to cut
additives out of your diet, it’s likely you will have to
buy more whole foods and fewer “convenience foods,”
such as ready-made meals, but the extra time you spend preparing
an additive-free meal will be well worth the health benefits for
you and your family.
Did You Know?
- In August, 2006, the FDA approved
the process of preventing the food-borne pathogen listeriosis
by spraying viruses on the processed meats and cold cuts that
might carry it.xxviii
- To create new flavor additives,
chemists sometimes use fungal and tissue cultures—both of
which can produce flavorings classified as
“natural.” xix
For More Information
- This Food Additives page from The University of
Maryland’s College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
provides a basic overview of additive types, with some
information about their historical usage and some of the
controversies surrounding food and color additives.
- Food: Ingredients and Colors, a brochure
produced by the International Food Information Council and the
FDA, provides a basic overview of food and color additive
usage, including an overview of the FDA’s additive
approval process.
- The FDA also maintains a document
called Everything Added to Food in the United
States, which lists all of the additives that have been
approved for use by the FDA.
Sources
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