How Is The Body Affected By Food Additives?

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines food additives as substances that are added to foods to maintain or improve their safety, texture, freshness, taste or appearance. People have been using some additives, such as salt, for centuries.

Many cultures have used salt throughout history to preserve food. However, other food additives were introduced with the rise of modern industry. Read this article to find out how the body is affected by food additives.

The reason for using additives comes in principle from the technological need for it. The main goal is to guarantee proper preservation of foods  in terms of nutritional quality or to stabilize them.

Nevertheless, companies add these substances to make the taste or appearance of the foods more attractive. In any case, at least in theory, food producers should always respect the recommendations of organizations such as the FAO ( Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ).

Classification of food additives

The additives used in food come from different sources. Some of them come from vegetables, others from animals or minerals, and there is also a group that is produced synthetically. These days, the food industry uses thousands of these substances, which they supply to foods for specific purposes.

WHO and FAO group these compounds into three major categories:

• Aromas: Substances added to improve the taste or smell.
• Enzyme preparations: These are natural proteins that catalyze chemical reactions and cannot be in the finished food product.
• Other additives : These are used to add color or to sweeten foods.

The health risk associated with food additives

Each country has specialized organizations dedicated to analyzing the effects of additives on people’s health. At the international level, the WHO and the FAO are responsible for this task. For this purpose, they formed the Joint FAO / WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives ( JECFA ).

To know how additives in food affect the body, they start with an allowable daily amount. This is the amount of an additive that is present in food or water that a person can ingest per day, without detecting any effects on health.

Evaluation of the risk

The risk you may be exposed to when consuming food additives is listed in the Codex system. To build and publish any Codex, you need to involve several intergovernmental agencies that analyze the risks of each case and make a list, in addition to rules, directives and recommendations.

The first step in evaluating the risk is to identify the hazards. Researchers look at these from a toxicological point of view.

After these analyzes, researchers decide what amounts a person can consume of the additives per day, depending on body weight, without causing a risk to health. After this, they classify the risk.

The most well-known side effects

Food additives can have various side effects. This is especially the case when they are used illegally, without being subject to the controls of regulatory agencies. These reactions are divided into three major groups:

• Allergic reactions : These are due to an immunological response. The substance that most often causes allergic reactions is dyes.
• Non-immunological intolerance or idiosyncrasy : This has to do with an unidentified intolerance that the person taking the drugs has.

• Endocrine or neurotoxic disorders : When substances interfere with the synthesis or release of neurotransmitters in the brain.

Physical manifestations of harmful effects of food additives

There are a number of manifestations and diseases associated with these side effects. The list below is a summary and is not complete, nor conclusive, about the harmful effects of these substances.

The most well-known effects are:

• Respiratory problems such as asthma and rhinitis : In general, the influence of colors on the central nervous system causes these problems.

• Skin problems such as hives or contact dermatitis : These ailments are mainly related to preservatives and dyes.
• Changes in the central nervous system and the endocrine system.

Things to keep in mind

There are additives in most of the food we eat and buy every day. Therefore, we should take the time to look at the ingredients in the food we buy, and in that way we get to know if a reputable organization approves them. If you think you may have had an allergic reaction to a food, it is a good idea to talk to your doctor.