What are the different types of additives?

Food additives are grouped by what they do. The additives that you are most likely to come across on food labels are:

• antioxidants (stop food becoming rancid or changing color by reducing the chance of fats combining with oxygen)

• colors

(please refer to the Food Additives Bible application for information about dangerous colors)

• emulsifiers, stabilizers, gelling agents and thickeners (help to mix or thicken ingredients)

• flavor enhancers (used to bring out the flavor of foods)

• preservatives (used to keep food safer for longer)

• sweeteners (intense sweeteners are many times sweeter than sugar whereas bulk sweeteners have a similar sweetness to sugar)

Please refer to the Food Additives Bible application for information about full list of dangerous colors, flavor enhancers, preservatives, emulsifiers, sweeteners, stabilizers, gelling agents and thickeners: