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| *Preservatives (200 range) help protect against food deterioration caused by micro-organisms *Antioxidants (300 range) slow or prevent the oxidative deterioration of foods, such as when fats and oils go rancid. *Emulsifiers (mostly in the 400 range) help prevent oil and water mixtures (eg in mayonnaise) from separating. *Stabilisers (mostly in the 400 range) maintain the uniform dispersal of substances in a food. *Thickeners (including vegetable gums, which have code numbers mostly in the 400 range, and modified starches, with code numbers in 1000 range) increase the viscosity of food to a desired consistency. *Flavour enhancers (mainly in the 600 range) improve the flavour and/or aroma of food * Sweeteners (including intense sweeteners in the 900 range, and bulk sweeteners such as sorbitol, 420) impart a sweet taste for fewer kilojoules than sugar *Glutamates Flavour enhancers ranging from 621-625, are found in many foods, including packet soups, flavoured noodles, sauces and savoury snacks. People sensitive to monosodium glutamate (621) may have short-term reactions such as headaches, flushing and numbness when they eat foods that contain large amounts of MSG, and some asthmatics may also be susceptible. *Processing aids are not required to be lised, even though traces may be present in food. Enzymes are an example.
courtesy Choice Magazine May 2008 The effects of Food Additives: Food Preservatives, Colours, Bleaches, Flavours, Emulsifiers, Stabilisers Animal Derived Food Additives List
Fed Up With Food Additives - FSANZ - regulators of the Food Standards Code.
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Sodium benzoate - see latest news on this chemical addititive. [news.ninemsn.com.au]
Soft drink additive damages DNA: report
Monday May 28 2007 05:00 AEST
A common preservative found in many soft drinks can cause serious cell damage and fatal illness, according to a UK study revealed last night. (Getty)
By ninemsn staff
A common preservative found in many soft drinks can cause serious cell damage and fatal illness, according to a UK study revealed last night.
Research indicates that sodium benzoate, an ingredient in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max, has the ability to deactivate parts of DNA and eventually cause diseases such as Parkinson's and cirrhosis of the liver.
Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology who has been studying sodium benzoate for eight years at Sheffield University, found that the preservative seriously damages living cells.
"These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether," Prof Piper told The Independent on Sunday.
The findings came from laboratory tests conducted with sodium benzoate on living yeast cells. Prof Piper was alarmed by the chemical's destructive impact on the "power station" of the cells known as the mitochondria.
"The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it as happens in a number if diseased states then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously," Prof Piper continued.
"There is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing."
Sodium benzoate occurs in small amounts naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks.
Sometimes listed as E211 in ingredients lists, the preservative is also found in Sprite, Sunkist, and Coke Zero among other drinks.
The additive has been the subject of controversy for some time. Last year it was revealed that a chemical reaction between sodium benzoate and vitamin C creates benzene, a carcinogenic chemical.
"The food industry will say these compounds have been tested and they are complete safe," Prof Piper said. "By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate. Like all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago."
He advised parents to think twice about letting their children drink products containing the chemical.
"My concern is for children who are drinking large amounts," he said.
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