FOOD PRESERVATIVE

Introduction

PMG Vol .02-Issue .41-October 2023 To understand preservatives, one should first know about food additives as preservatives are a type of food additive. Food additives are substances added to food to maintain or improve its safety, freshness, taste, texture, or appearance. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), is the international body responsible for evaluating the safety of food additives. Only food additives that have been evaluated and deemed safe by JECFA, based on which the Codex Alimentarius Commission has established maximum use levels, can be used in foods that are traded internationally.

What FSSAI and Codex say about Food Additives!:

Food additive is any substance not normally consumed as a food by itself and not normally used as a typical ingredient of the food, whether or not it has nutritive value, the intentional addition of which to food for a technological (including organoleptic) purpose in the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food results, or may be reasonably expected to result (directly or indirectly), in it or its byproducts becoming a component of or otherwise affecting the characteristics of such foods. The term does not include contaminants or substances added to food for maintaining or improving nutritional qualities.

Food preservation is one of the methods to protect food from unwanted microbial growth. After the food is produced, product is store and protect by covering the rice and curry with lids to keep away flies and other insects. By this, we are protecting it from any infection caused by them. This is a shortterm condition. Chemical food preservation, on the other hand, is done to preserve food for a longer time. According to FSSAI- “Preservative” means a substance which when added to food, is capable of inhibiting, retarding, or arresting the process of fermentation, acidification, or other decomposition of food.

Food Additives v/s Food Preservatives:

Food Additives: Food additives are a wide range of chemical compounds used for different purposes of food processing and storage. Food Preservatives: Preservatives are a type of food additive that inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and molds in foods, and prevent some disagreeable chemical reactions such as lipid oxidation.

Objective:

1.Prevention of food by damaging agents like microbes, insect etc.

2.Delay of enzymatic spoilage. 3.Hinder or prevention of the growth of microorganism.

Why chemical preservation?:

1.To preserve the natural characteristics of food. 2.To preserve the way natural food looks. 3.To increase the shelf life of foods for storage.

Types of Chemical Preservatives:

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), preservatives are grouped into classes (I-IV), with each class having similar microbiological or chemical activity. Class I: Curing preservatives in cheeses and meats Class II: Antimicrobials (which inhibit the activity or growth of microorganisms) Class III: Antifungals (which inhibit the activity or growth of yeast and mold) and Class IV: Antioxidants and their synergists (which are used to prevent the oxidation of vitamins, minerals, and lipids of foods and ant browning agents which prevent both enzymatic and nonenzymatic browning of foodstuffs).

However, according to FSSAI Chemical preservatives are divided into two categories, namely: 1. Class I Preservatives: Those which are obtained from natural sources. 2. Class II Preservatives: Those that are obtained synthetically.

Natural Preservative: Common salt, Dextrose, Glucose, Spices, Acetic acid/Vinegar, Honey, Edible Vegetable oil. Artificial Preservative: Benzoic acid including salts, Nitrates/Nitrites of sodium or potassium salts, Niacin, Sorbic acid, Propionic acids including salts.

Conclusion:

A suitable method of food preservation is one that slows down or prevents the action of the agents of spoilage altogether. Also, during the process of food preservation, the food should not be damaged. To achieve this, certain basic preservatives can be used. Nowadays almost all food products have food preservatives. Chemicals are used as food preservatives as they are the most effective for longer shelf life stopping or delaying bacteria's growth and suppressing the reaction when food meets oxygen. Some Chelating agents and antioxidants (Vitamin E, Vitamin C) work as preservatives, for example, Disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), Polyphosphates, Citric acid, and Ascorbic acid.