Food additives – past and present

Food additives are not a modern invention. People have always needed to preserve food after the harvest so they have things to eat during the winter. Salt and smoke have been used to preserve food since early times. And then there is the desire to make food look and taste better. Ancient Egyptians used colours and flavourings in their foods, while the Romans used spices and saltpetre as well as colourings. Many of these additives were expensive, and only the rich were able to afford them.

In the past century, new additives have been discovered and invented that can be used to improve food products at relatively low cost. The first of these included colours in cheese, emulsifiers in margarine, baking powder in cake mixes and gelling agents in jams. The past 40 or so years have seen dramatic developments in food science and technology, along with a substantial increase in the use of food additives. The food industry can now make a huge variety of products, with good and uniform quality, which are sold at reasonable prices.

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