Exposure to hazardous chemicals through food can create adverse health effects that depends on various factors like the following
a. Type of chemical
b. Dose of chemical
c. Duration of exposure
d. Frequency of exposure [25]
The safety of food additives is generally evaluated by international organization as well as local government. The goals for the assessment of the intake of food additive are as follows:
a. Monitoring the actual intake of food additives with respect to its acceptable daily intake (ADI).
b. Identify the consumer group who are at risk for the intake of additives close or more than the ADI value.
c. To offer information to the international organization for the reassessment of the regulations of food additives in case of high intake.
The safety assessment of the additives is based on the toxicity of the additives. On the basis of these toxicological data, food additives are classified as follows:
Group A: Additives having established ADI value
Group B: Additives generally considered as safe.
Group C: Additives with insufficient data.
Group D: Flavoring components.
Group E: Natural components with very few or no scientific safety data.
ADI value is determined by JECFA. ADI value is expressed on the basis of body weight, and it is the amount of food additive consumed over a lifetime without considerable health hazard. Only the food additives having JECFA safety assessment and having no appreciable health risk to consumers can be used. These additives might be natural or synthetic. Either on the basis of JECFA assessment or assessment of national authority authorized the use of particular additives at specified level for specific food. JECFA evaluation is based on review of biochemical, toxicological, and other relevant data that includes mandatory animal study and observation on human being. The toxicological test includes acute, short-term and longterm studies. The test determines how the additives are absorbed, distributed, and excreted. It also determines the harmful effect of the additives and its by-products. The Codex Alimentarius Commission establishes the guidelines on food labelling. The standards are implemented in most countries. Food manufacturers are obliged to indicate the additives used in their products. In European Union, there is legislation for labelling of food additives as per E numbers. People sensitive to certain food additives can check labels.
2.5 Conclusion
In the last 30 years, the use of food additives has been increased in huge amount. In present situation, over 200,000 tonnes of additives are used per year. It is estimated that, today, about 75% of western diet is made up of processed food and each person is consuming 3.6–4.5 kg of food additive per year. With the increase in the consumption of food additives, there is a concern with the various physical and mental disorders. More concern is with the effect of additives on children as consumption of additives is related to hyperactivity and hypersensitivity. Synthetic additives should be avoided more due to their potential toxic effect. Consuming excessive additives causes various adverse reactions like gastrointestinal problem, respiratory disorder, and neurological adverse reaction. Worldwide, there is a search for new and safe additive from natural sources to prevent spoilage of food with no adverse effect on human being. The demand for probiotic functional food is increasing day by day due to awareness of consumer about the impact of these foods on human health. There is a continuous development and reduction of the need of chemical additives. There are huge number of natural compounds present in nature that are still unknown. These natural compounds have a tremendous potential to act as new safe food additive. Synthetic food additives can react with the cellular components that lead to various effect on human health. If we have to use additives in food, then we should try to use the natural one which has minimum effect. Otherwise, we should use those additives that are generally recognized as safe (GRAS), and if they are not of GRAS category, then the ADI should not be exceeded. Before purchase of food the ingredient, it should be checked to avoid the foods containing artificial additives.
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