Food Additives and Health 食物添加劑與健康
Prof. Susanna S. T. Lee
Department of Biochemistry & Environmental Science Programme
< lee2022@cuhk.edu.hk>
Objectives:
This lecture intends to introduce some common types of food additives and their specific
functions and importance in the production and preservation of food products. The potential
health risks of consuming these food additives, and the current legislations in the HKSAR
governing the use of food additives will also be discussed.
Summary:
Food additives have been used for centuries to improve the quality (e.g., tastes, color, and
shelf-life) of food products. Food additives are chemicals, other than the basic food
component, intentionally added to food during production, processing, storage, and/or
packaging to produce a desired effect. Today, more than 2000 different additives are being
used in foods and there has always been some concern regarding the potential health risks of
consuming these additives in foods. In the following table, the specific functions, potential
health risks and the HKSAR legislations regarding the use of some common food additives
are summarized.
Food
additives
Flavor
enhancers
Examples
Functions
Monosodium
glutamate
調味增添劑
穀氨酸單鈉
Modify the taste of Chinese
natural and
Restaurant
synthetic flavor
Syndrome
Classified as
GRAS
ADI not specified
Artificial
sweeteners
(MSG) 味精
Synthetic, noncarbohydrates:
Saccharin
Provide low
calorie, sweetened
foods for
consumer groups
with special
dietary needs
Food adulteration
(artificial
sweeteners)
regulations
人造糖,代糖,
人工代糖, 增
甜劑, 甜味劑
薩克林, 糖精,
Cyclamate
環磺酸鹽,
Health concerns
Metabolite of
aspartame
induces mental
retardation in
Phenylketonuria
(PKU) patient
代謝性先天缺陷苯
Aspartame
丙酮尿的病人
阿斯巴甜,
阿斯伯特,
阿斯巴特
Aspartame has
been linked to
brain dysfunction
天冬胺酸代糖,
Acesulfame-K
醋磺內酯甲
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Regulations
食物攙雜(人造糖)
規例
Coloring
agents
色素
Food
additives
Nitrites
(NO2-)
亞硝酸鹽
Natural (10%)
Synthetic (90%):
Tartrazine
Impart desired
color to food and
restore lost color
Allergic reaction
in some people
過敏反應
酒石黃, 檸檬黃
Coloring matter
in food
regulations
食物內色素規例
Examples
Functions
Health concerns
Regulations
Sodium nitrite
Formation of pink
color in cured
meat and inhibit
the growth of
Clostridium
botulinum
Methemoglobinemia
Preservatives in
food regulations
正鐵血紅蛋白症
食物內防腐劑規例
(肉毒梭菌,
亞硝胺
亞硝酸鈉
Carcinogenic
nitrosamines
肉毒桿菌)
Antioxidants
抗氧化劑
Natural:
vitamin C
and E
Synthetic:
BHA
Retard autooxidation in fatcontaining foods
May induce
cancers and cause
hemorrhage
Preservatives in
food regulations
食物內防腐劑規例
丁基羥基甲氧苯
BHT
二丁基羥基甲氧苯
References:
1. Concon, J. M. (1988). Food Toxicology: Part B. Contaminants and Additives. Marcel
Dekker Inc., New York.
2. Maga, J. A. and Tu, A. T. (1995). Food Additive Toxicology. Marcel Dekker Inc.,
New York.
3. Millichap, J. G. (1993). Environmental Poisons in Our Food. ONB Publisher, Chicago.
4. Shibamoto, T. and Bjeldanes, L. F. (1993). Introduction to Food Toxicology. Academic
Press, Inc. Harcourt Brace & Company, New York.
5. Taylor, S. L. and Scanlan, R. A. (1989). Food Toxicology: A Perspective on the Relative
Risk. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York.
6. Colouring Matter in Food Regulations. Chapter 132 Subsidiary Legislation. Authorized
Loose-leaf edition. Government Printer, Hong Kong.
7. Preservatives in Food Regulations. Chapter 132 Subsidiary Legislation. Authorized
Loose-leaf edition. Government Printer, Hong Kong.
8. Food Adulteration (Artificial Sweeteners) Regulations. Chapter 132 Subsidiary
Legislation. Authorized Loose-leaf edition. Government Printer, Hong Kong.
9. Walker, R. and Lupien, J. R. (2000). The Safety evaluation of monosodium glutamate.
J. Nutr. 130: 1049S-1052S.
10. Choice Magazine 選擇 p. 31-34. Vol. 184. 1992.
11. Choice Magazine 選擇 p. 4-13. Vol. 208. 1994.
12. Choice Magazine 選擇 p. 11-18. Vol. 214. 1994.
13. Choice Magazine 選擇 p. 4-7. Vol. 217. 1994.
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14. Choice Magazine 選擇 p. 14-22. Vol. 244. 1997.
15. Choice Magazine 選擇 p. 4-15 Vol. 270. 1999.
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