5.3 - Food Additives

Meaning and Regulation

Food additives are natural or synthetic ingredients added to food to prevent spoilage or improve appearance, taste or texture.
Malaysia’s Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985 protect consumers by regulating food standards, contents, guarantees, date marking, nutritional supplements, packaging and truthful labelling.

Type	Function and examples
Preservatives	Delay bacterial or fungal growth. Salt in dried fish; sugar in jam; vinegar in pickles; benzoic acid in chilli sauce; sodium benzoate in bread; sodium nitrite/nitrate in sausages; sulphur dioxide in dried fruit.
Antioxidants	Slow oxidation of fats and prevent rancidity. Ascorbic acid in sweets; citric acid in cakes and biscuits; tocopherol in margarine.
Flavourings	Replace flavours lost during processing, add taste and aroma, or replace costly or seasonal flavourings. MSG in instant noodles; aspartame, sorbitol and stevia; propyl ethanoate for pear flavour; ethyl butanoate for pineapple flavour.
Stabilisers	Give a uniform, smooth texture. Pectin in jam; agar from seaweed in jelly.
Emulsifiers	Mix two immiscible liquids into an emulsion. Monoglycerides or diglycerides in peanut butter; lecithin in chocolate.
Thickeners	Increase liquid viscosity. Starch, gelatine, acacia gum and xanthan gum in soups and sauces.
Dyes	Add or restore colour. Azo compounds for yellow, red, brown or black; triphenyl compounds for green, blue or purple; caramel for brown.

An E number is a code used in European countries to label food additives.
Food additives keep food fresh longer, allow seasonal produce to be enjoyed throughout the year, improve appearance and make food taste better.
Producers must comply with permitted quantities. Excessive or prolonged intake may cause allergies, nervous-system disorders, asthma, rashes, hyperactivity in children and cancer.
Prolonged intake of additives such as sulphur dioxide, sodium nitrite, sodium benzoate, MSG and dyes can cause allergies or other health problems.