WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

Nutrition and chemistry.

SHOULD WE BE AFRAID OF FOOD?!As consumers, we think we can choose food we want to eat. This is really misleading. Big concerns, that are specialized in converting and selling food, want us to make a choice on the basis of what they offer. People are tempted by advertisements that are assuring them about healthy properties of their products. “ Diet food”,” low in calories”, “containing less salt but more proteins”– it’s only couple of baselines. Unfortunately, adverts won’t tell us how food that contains chemical substances can influence our health.

FOOD ADDITIVES ARE SUBSTANCES ADDED TO FOOD TO PRESERVE FLAVOR OR ENHANCE ITS TASTE AND APPEARANCE. SOME ADDITIVES HAVE BEEN USED FOR CENTURIES; FOR EXAMPLE, PRESERVING FOOD BY PICKLING (WITH VINEGAR), SALTING, AS WITH BACON, PRESERVING SWEETS OR USING SULFUR DIOXIDE AS IN SOME WINES. WITH THE ADVENT OF PROCESSED FOODS IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY, MANY MORE ADDITIVES HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED, OF BOTH NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL ORIGIN.

What are food additives?

Food additives Acids Acidity regulators Anticaking agents Antifoaming agents Antioxidants Bulking agents Food coloring Color retention agents Emulsifiers Flavors Flavor enhancers Flour treatment agents Glazing agents Humectants Tracer gas Preservatives Stabilizers Sweeteners Thickeners

are number codes for food additives that have been assessed for use within the European Union (E stands for European). They are commonly

found on food tables.What numbers stand for?

If you want to know how E numbers affect our health

you must see this:http

://www.earthways.co.uk/enumbers.html

Still curious about E numbers? Just check!

http://www.exploreenumbers.co.uk/

100-199 colours200-299 preservatives300-399 antioxidants & acidity

regulators400–499 thickeners, stabilisers

& emulsifiers500-599 pH regulators & anti-

caking agents600-699 flavour enhancers700-799 antibiotics

900- 999 Miscellaneous1100 – 1599 Additional chemicals

E numbers

These short films can show you what is the danger of food additives.

These short films can show you what is the danger of food additives.