F o o d . A d d i t i v e s

The last 100 years has seen radical changes in the food supply of societies around the world. While less and less people working on farms, people now expect and demand a greater variety of food. As the affluent middle working class becomes larger, the demand for pre-packaged, convenience foods has also grown considerably as families find it less convenient to cook meals from scratch.

Making convenience foods both varied as well as nutritious and safe (not to mention cheap), is now being done using modern technology. This technology includes food additives that have been proven both useful as well as safe through long use and stringent testing.

Sections:
1. What exactly are food additives and why use them?
2. How long have food additives been around?
3. Where do food additives come from?
4. How safe are food additives?
5. Can people be allergic to food additives?
6. Conclusion

...or read the whole essay
Learning activities: discuss additives or play the additives game!

Sections written based on information from the European Food Information Council (EUFIC). For more information, please visit http://www.eufic.org [copyright granted on website].