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Science Popularization丨Food Science Popularization Food Additives (Part 2)

The last issue of the "Food Additives for Food Science (Part I)" article introduced you to 10 different types of food additives, and today, this article continues to introduce you to another 13 food additives.

Science Popularization丨Food Science Popularization Food Additives (Part 2)

11

Enzyme preparations

Enzyme preparations are biological products with catalytic functions after the enzymes have been purified and processed. In the food industry, enzyme preparations have the biological properties of corresponding enzymes that catalyze various chemical reactions in food processing. Enzyme preparations with small amount, high catalytic efficiency, strong specificity, generally used in starch processing, dairy processing, juice processing, baked goods, beer fermentation and other food engineering, with simplified production process, increase product output, improve product quality, reduce consumption and eliminate pollution and other obvious advantages. The essence of the vast majority of enzymes is protein, therefore, any factor affecting protein denaturation will destroy the enzyme and make it inactive, temperature, pH, enzyme concentration, water activity, inhibitors, etc. are important factors affecting the activity of enzyme preparations. The main enzyme preparations in the domestic market are amylase, protease, cellulase, pectinase, β-glucanase, phytase and so on.

12

Flavor enhancers

Flavor enhancers are substances that supplement or enhance the original flavor of food. In life, each food has its own original flavor, sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty, fresh and so on. However, due to the specificity of natural food ingredients, the original flavor of the food may not reach the ideal level expected by consumers. The addition of flavor enhancers can enhance the flavor without changing the original flavor of the food, making the food sweeter, fresher and more attractive. Commonly used flavor enhancers are sodium glutamate (monosodium glutamate), 5'-flavored disodium nucleotide, disodium succinate, L-alanine, aminoacetic acid, capsicum oleoresin and the like.

13

Flour treating agents

Flour treatment agent refers to food additives that promote the curing of flour and whiten flour products. In the production of wheat, the final production processes are bleaching and post-ripening. Unbleached and post-cooked flour is viscous, lacks elasticity and toughness, and is not suitable for pastry. After bleaching and post-ripening, the color and texture of the flour will change significantly before it can be used in the manufacture and processing of products. However, naturally, wheat needs to go through 3-4 weeks to complete the ripening process, with a long cycle, which is not conducive to large-scale production of products. Adding the appropriate flour treatment agent to the wheat flour can shorten the after-ripening time of the flour and greatly improve the production efficiency of the flour product. Common flour treatment agents include, magnesium carbonate, calcium carbonate, calcium peroxide, cysteine, azoformamide, benzoyl peroxide, etc., wherein, excessive intake of benzoyl peroxide will increase the burden on the human liver, with potential safety hazards, such as its added amount controlled within 0.075g / kg, it will not cause harm to the human body. Other flour treatment agents have a high safety factor, and they will not cause harm to the human body if they are used in strict accordance with the provisions of GB 2760.

14

Coating agents

Coating agent refers to food additives that are applied to the appearance of food and play a role in preserving freshness, quality preservation, and preventing water evaporation. Applying a layer of coating agent to the surface of the fruit can not only prevent water evaporation, but also prevent microbial invasion, prolong the shelf life and shelf life; adding a suitable coating agent to the candy can beautify the appearance, prevent mutual adhesion, and maintain the stability of product quality. Commonly used coating agents in the food industry are lac, white oil, morpholine fatty acid salt, rosin pentaerythritol ester, octyl phenoxy polyethyleneoxy, carnauba wax, stearic acid, polyvinyl alcohol, beeswax, prolanpolysaccharides and the like.

15

Moisture retainers (Humectants)

Moisture retainers refer to additives that help to maintain moisture in food, generally phosphates (calcium dihydrogen phosphate, potassium dihydrogen phosphate, dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, tripotassium phosphate, trisodium phosphate, etc.). Phosphates are mainly used in meat and aquatic product processing, by adjusting the pH of the product, interacting with metal ions, dissociating the muscle globulin in muscle proteins and other ways to enhance the water retention of meat, and ultimately achieve the effect of maintaining product stability. Phosphates are widely used in China's food industry, and its safety problems have attracted much attention. After phosphate enters the food, it will change the proportion of calcium and phosphorus in the diet, and excessive consumption will affect human health; at the same time, phosphate is combined with calcium to generate calcium orthophosphate that is insoluble in water, and long-term excessive consumption will affect the body's absorption of calcium. GB 2760 strictly stipulates the amount of phosphate added, and eating phosphate that does not exceed the standard will not cause harm to the human body.

16

Nutritional additives

Nutrient enhancers are substances that belong to the range of nutrients that are added to foods naturally or artificially synthesized to enhance nutrient composition. Nutritional fortifiers are added to (1) make up for the loss of nutrients caused by normal processing and storage of food. (2) Improve the health effects caused by insufficient nutrient intake in some people due to regional reasons. (3) Improve the health effects of insufficient or deficient intake of certain nutrients due to eating habits. (4) Supplement and adjust the nutrient content in special diets. The nutritional enhancers allowed to be used in the national standard GB 2760 can be divided into nine categories:

(1) Amino acids and nitrogen-containing compounds are used to supplement the necessary amino acids lacking in foods and infant formulas.

(2) Vitamins, used to supplement the essential vitamins lacking in food.

(3) Minerals, which are used to supplement the essential constant and trace mineral elements of the human body that are lacking in food.

(4) Fatty acids, which are used to supplement the essential fatty acids lacking in food.

(5) Nucleotides, which are used to supplement various nucleotides in food and infant food.

(6) Phytonutrients, generally lutein, can be added to food to protect human vision.

(7) Prebiotic oligosaccharides can be used to promote the growth of human intestinal beneficial bacteria.

(8) Calcium iron absorber, used to promote the body's absorption of calcium and iron.

(9) Dietary fiber, used to promote human intestinal peristalsis, has laxative function.

Nutrient enhancers are generally nutrients needed by the human body and are essentially harmless to the human body. In the food industry, the correct and reasonable addition of nutritional enhancers will not affect the normal color, flavor and other quality problems of food, nor will it lead to any abnormal metabolism of nutrients.

17

Preservatives

Preservatives refer to substances that prevent food from spoiling and prolong the shelf life and shelf life of food. Preservatives have long been one of the most economical and reliable methods of food preservation, and one of the most effective ways to maintain and guarantee the safety of human food supply. Without preservatives, food will quickly mold, rot and deteriorate, resulting in microorganisms and mycotoxins that are extremely harmful to the human body, such as aflatoxin produced by the spoilage of grain foods, mold produced by fruit food corruption, and botulinum toxin produced by meat products. At the same time, food without preservatives has only a short shelf life and shelf life, food in the cumbersome production, processing, transportation, sales and other processes will increase loss, increase waste, reduce production efficiency, seriously affect the output of food, which will produce a fatal blow to china and even the world where food is scarce. Therefore, preservatives have become an inseparable part of the modern food industry and have become a necessity for human basic life. In general, the spoilage of food is mainly due to the growth of microorganisms and the oxidation of food. Therefore, the food preservatives commonly used in China mainly play a role in bacteriostatic, bactericidal and antioxidant in food. Preservatives such as table salt, nitrite, sulfur dioxide, sulfite, benzoic acid and its salt, sorbic acid and its salt, propionic acid and its salt, ascorbic acid and its salt have a bactericidal and bacteriostatic effect in food, butyl hydroxyanisole (BHA) and preservatives such as 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (BHT) can prevent the oxidation and corruption of unsaturated oils.

China's national standard GB 2760 for the allowed addition of preservatives after a strict safety risk assessment, while stipulating the maximum amount of various types of preservatives in different foods, therefore, in strict accordance with GB 2760 use, edible preservatives will not cause damage to the human body.

18

Stabilizers and coagulators

Stabilizers and coagulants refer to food additives that stabilize the structure of food or make the tissue structure of food unchanged and enhance viscous solids. According to the function, it can be divided into five categories: (1) coagulants, including calcium chloride, gypsum, magnesium salts, acid lactone coagulants, etc., are mainly used to solidify soy milk into insoluble tofu brain. (2) Fruit and vegetable hardeners, including salt substances such as calcium chloride, mainly act on soluble pectinase in fruits and vegetables, so that it reacts with calcium ions to generate insoluble pectinate, thereby maintaining the hardness and brittleness of fruit and vegetable products. (3) Chelating agent. Metal ions present in food can cause decolorization, oxidation, rancidity and other effects on food during hydrolysis or degradation reactions. Chelating agents can combine with metal ions in food to form soluble complexes, thus ensuring the quality and stability of food. (4) Canned oxygen remover, mainly refers to stannous disodium citrate, mainly used in canned fruits and vegetables, and reacts with residual oxygen in canned food, so that Sn2+ forms Sn4+ ions, making canned products more antioxidant and stable. (5) Moisturizer, generally referred to as propylene glycol, is mainly used for pastries and raw wet noodles, which can increase food elasticity, increase luster, and prevent noodles from drying and cracking.

19

Sweeteners

Sweetener refers to the substance that gives food sweetness, in the current food industry, sweetener is the most widely used, the largest amount of a class of food additives. Adding sweeteners to food can not only improve the taste of food, but also meet people's pursuit of sweetness. Sweeteners can be divided into nutritional and non-nutritional types according to nutritional value, and can be divided into high-power sweeteners (tens or even hundreds of times the sweetness of sucrose) and filling sweeteners (0.2-2 times the sweetness of sucrose). High-power sweeteners include saccharin, cyclamate, acesulfame potassium and aspartame, etc., with high safety, no nutritional value, no calories, high sweetness, low cost and other characteristics, added to food, not only can meet the requirements of food sweetness, but also do not produce sugar and calories, but also no side effects for consumers, suitable for obesity, diabetes, caries and other people to eat. Filler sweeteners include monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and sugar alcohols, of which monosaccharides and oligosaccharides are sugars, producing calories and nutrients, and are generally involved in food production and processing as common food raw materials. Sugar alcohols are polyols after the hydrogenation and reduction of sugars, including xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol and the like. Sugar alcohol is not fermented by microorganisms in the mouth, so it will not corrode the teeth, at the same time, sugar alcohol has the advantages of low calorie, sweetness, etc., suitable for use in low-heat, low-fat, sugar-free food.

Sweeteners have been used by a large number of people for a long time, and their safety has attracted much attention. The sweeteners allowed to be used in GB 2760 have been evaluated by toxicology and physiology, and have the characteristics of no carcinogenicity, no genotoxicity, and no impact on growth and reproductive development, so GB 2760 stipulates that food-grade sweeteners can be used to be safe for the human body.

20

Thickeners

Thickener refers to food additives that can improve the viscosity of food or form gels, thereby changing the physical properties of food and having a stabilizing effect. GB 2760 allows the addition of common thickeners are agar, gelatin, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium alginate, pectin, carrageenan, gum arabic, xanthan gum, propylene glycol alginate, tamarind polysaccharide gum and other 46 substances, in accordance with the provisions of the national standard these thickeners will not cause harm to the human body. In the food industry, the addition of thickeners can play a role in thickening, stabilizing, gelling, frostproofing, foaming, water retention, strengthening, detoxification and so on on.

21

Flavoring agents

Food spices refer to substances that enhance the aroma or aroma of food. The aroma and aroma of food can promote saliva secretion and enhance the body's digestion and absorption of nutrients. In food, spices generally have 7 kinds of roles: (1) auxiliary effect, some foods themselves have a certain aroma, but the aroma concentration is insufficient, adding corresponding spices can enhance the aroma of food; (2) flavoring effect, adding spices to food can give the original aromaless (taste) of the food specific aroma (taste) ;(3) supplementary effect, used to supplement the aroma of food due to production and processing, so that the aroma of food reaches the due degree; (4) stabilization effect, the aroma of natural products is not stable enough, will change due to the surrounding climate and conditions The addition of spices can make the food aroma enduring and maintain its stability; (5) substitution, when natural substances can not be used directly, spices can be added as substitutes to food, to ensure that the flavor should not be affected; (6) flavor correction, food in production and processing, often due to the process and other reasons to produce some unpleasant odor, adding spices can cover up these odors. (7) Flavor enhancement, some spices can increase the original meat aroma, fruit aroma, sweetness of food, inhibit sour and bitter taste, with the effect of removing bean fishy taste, removing smell, increasing dairy flavor and so on.

22

Food processing aids for the food industry

Processing aids for the food industry refer to various substances that ensure that food processing can be carried out smoothly, and generally have the functions of filtering, clarification, adsorption, lubrication, demoulding, decolorization, peeling, fermentation, and extraction of solvents. Since processing aids are substances that assist in the processing of food and have nothing to do with the food itself, when using processing aids, it is necessary to ensure that the use has the necessity of the process when using them, and to reduce the amount of use as much as possible under the premise of achieving the expected purpose. At the same time, processing aids should generally be removed before being made into finished products, or reduce their residual amount as much as possible, and their residual amount should not be harmful to consumer health. Common processing aids include ammonia, glycerol, acetone, propane, monoglyceride fatty acid ester, diglyceride fatty acid ester, nitrogen, silica, carbon dioxide, diatomaceous earth, activated carbon, phospholipids, calcium sulfate, etc. The national standard GB 2760 has strict regulations on the scope and dosage of processing aids in the food industry, and the use of processing aids for the food industry in accordance with this standard will not cause harm to the human body.

23

other

Other food additives refer to food additives licensed in GB 2760 that do not belong to the above 22 specific uses, mainly including potassium permanganate (oxidant), isomerized lactose liquid (bifidobacterium proliferative factor), caffeine (flavoring agent), potassium chloride (flavoring agent), galactate mannan (water-soluble dietary fiber), hydroxystearin (vegetable oil crystallization inhibitor) and ice structure protein (anti-ice crystal forming agent). Potassium permanganate has strong oxidation, in the food industry is generally used as a bleach, disinfectant, deodorant, drinking water purifier, etc., in the production and processing of wine and starch, play a role in deodorization, decolorization and so on. Isomerized lactose solution is a functional oligosaccharide that can be used as a proliferative factor of Lactobacillus bifidobacterium, which can promote the growth of the bifidobacterium in the human intestine, stimulate intestinal peristalsis, and promote the absorption of iron and calcium. Caffeine has the central role of excitatory nerves, and can be added to drinks as stimulants, bitters, spices, etc. to increase flavor. Potassium chloride is a white crystalline substance, relatively stable to light, heat and air, mixed with table salt in a certain proportion can be made of low sodium salt, flavor and saltiness are the same as table salt, can be used for food and some functional beverages. Galactate mannan is a kind of water-soluble dietary fiber, added to food can promote intestinal peristalsis, improve lipid metabolism and glucose metabolism, can prevent constipation, cardiovascular disease and so on. Hydroxystearin is a hardened oil prepared by heating under the action of an oxidation catalyst and can be used to prevent the crystallization of oils and fats. Ice structure protein is a special protein that controls the form of ice crystals and, in the food industry, can be used to prevent crystallization of frozen products.

The China Institute of Food and Drug Control has described 23 categories of food additives through two articles of "Food Additives for Food Science Popularization (Part 1 and Part 2)", aiming to popularize food safety knowledge for consumers and let consumers have a correct understanding of food additives. Food additives have now become an inseparable part of the human food industry, they are diverse, versatile, complex sources, and add small amounts to food, but can greatly affect or even change the texture and quality of food. In life, food-grade additives are added in strict accordance with the provisions of GB 2760, which will not cause damage to the human body, and consumers can eat with confidence.

(Source: China Drug Test)

Science Popularization丨Food Science Popularization Food Additives (Part 2)

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