Regulating Food Additives

Book excerpt: Food additives have been used since the beginning of time to enhance the quality and quantity of food products. We know from historical research that alcohol, vinegar, oils, and spices were used more than 10,000 years ago to preserve foods. The incorporation of various additives to human food has never ceased. Additives have been used and continue to be used to perform various functions from enhancing the flavor to increasing the shelf-life of the food. Until the time of the Industrial Revolution, the above-mentioned ingredients and a limited number of other ingredients were the major food additives used. However, the Industrial Revolution brought about advances in machinery development and changes in technology. Food production, especially grain, increased at a hectic pace and new food additives were developed. Fast forward to current times; knowledge regarding food additives, how they are prepared, their composition, and how they work has become very important to those in the food industry and health conscious consumers. Regulating Food Additives: The Good, Bad, and the Ugly addresses both the importance and the dangers of food additives. It discusses how food additives are prepared, what they are composed of, and why we need to be concerned about them. In addition, this book provides a timeline of laws regulating food in U.S. history such as the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) passed in 1938 and the Food Additives Amendment to that Act passed in 1958.