A detailed guide to food additives and their adverse health effects

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Apr 20 2020

There is an exponential use of food additives, especially processed food, due to the significant growth of the global population, changes in lifestyle patterns and demand for nutritious, safe, colourful, flavourful, affordable and convenient food. This demand for high quality food is a key impetus for the requirement to maintain high quality food manufacturing standards, and some of these processes require the use of food additives to confer different desirable attributes. Although it is common to add additives to food, it is highly controversial due to the relation of some additives to adverse health effects. This controversy is especially relevant concerning synthetic additives, some of which have been known to have carcinogenic effects.

Food Additives and Human Health is a detailed guide to the world of food additives commonly used in the food processing and manufacturing industry. Edited by experts in the field, invited scholars enrich the book with relevant chapter contributions. Chapters provide readers with knowledge on a broad range of food additives (anti-browning agents, essential oils, flavour enhancers, preservatives, stabilizers, sweeteners, among others), their safe use and their effects on human health. The relation of food additives to adverse health effects, including allergic and immunologic reactions, asthma, autoimmune diseases, cancer, diabetes, hyperkinesis and cardiovascular diseases, is addressed where possible.

Key Features of the book:

• Covers a wide range of natural and synthetic food additives
• Covers health related topics relevant to food additives
• Chapters are organized into specific, easy-to-read topics
• Provides bibliographic references for further reading

This book serves a valuable instrument for a broad spectrum of readers: researchers, health professionals, students, food science enthusiasts, and working professionals in industry and government regulatory agencies interested in the science of food additives.