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Understanding Benefits and Risks of Food Additives

Learn how additives make food safer and more nutritious while also exploring the potential risks. Find out how additives in junk foods and direct toxicological effects can impact health. Discover the importance of balancing risks and benefits, with a focus on specific examples like saccharin.

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Understanding Benefits and Risks of Food Additives

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  1. Benefits and risks of additives Domina Petric, MD

  2. Benefits

  3. Safer and more nutritiousfoods • The preservative and nutritional additives used in foods increasethe safety and overall value of many food products. • The use of several antimicrobials isknown to prevent food poisoning from various bacteria and molds. • Antioxidants, used toprevent the development of off-flavors, also prevent the formation of potentially toxicautoxidation products and maintain the nutritional value of vitamins and lipids.

  4. Risks of additives

  5. Risks

  6. Junk foods • Additiveshave resulted in the increased availability of food products with a low density ofnutrients. • These junk foods, which include many snack items, can in fact beused as substitutes in the diet for more nutritious foods.

  7. Additives

  8. Direct toxicological effects • Short-term acute effects from additives are unlikely. • Few additives are usedat levels that mightcause a direct toxicological impact. • Of particular concern are the hypersensitivity reactions to someadditives that can have a direct and severe impact on sensitive individuals even whenthe chemicals are used at legally acceptable levels.

  9. Direct toxicological effects • Cancer and reproductive problems are of primary concern, althoughthere is no direct evidence linking additiveconsumption with their occurrence in humans. • There are animal studies that have indicated potential problems with some additives.

  10. BALANCING RISKS AND BENEFITS

  11. Balancing

  12. Example: saccharin • There is no directevidence that saccharin, in the low amounts consumed in foods, causes cancer in humans, but risk evaluation in rats indicates a potential for cancer in humans. • On the benefit side,saccharin is an excellent non-caloric sweetener that is useful for diabetics and those interested in reducing consumption of calories.

  13. References • Branen AL, Haggerty RJ. Introduction to Food Additives. In: Branen AL et al. Food Additives. Marcel Dekker;2002.p:1-9.

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