Nutritional additives and health

Prehrambeni aditivi su tvari koje dodajemo namirnicama tijekom proizvodnje, transporta, oblikovanja, prerade i čuvanja hrane. Moraju biti označeni tako da je na originalnom proizvodu naveden naziv skupine te E-broj aditiva. Dijele se na bojila, konzervanse, antioksidanse, regulatore kiselosti, zgušnjivače, stabilizatore, emulgatore, regulatore pH, sredstva protiv zgrušnjavanja, pojačivače okusa, antibiotike i dodatne kemikalije. Bojila se dodaju da nadomjeste prirodnu boju namirnica. Konzervansi sprječavaju razmnožavanje mikroorganizama. Antioksidansi sprječavaju oksidirajuće procese. Emulgatori se koriste da stabiliziraju mješavinu dok se stabilizatori koriste za stabilne strukture namirnica. Zgušnjivači daju određenu gustoću, pojačivači okusa poboljšavaju djelovanje aroma, a regulatori kiselosti održavaju kiselost da se produži rok trajanja namirnicama. Iako je većina prehrambenih aditiva sigurna, neki mogu biti toksični pa čak i kancerogeni. Povezani su sa izazivanjem migrene, alergije, astme, debljine i poremećajima ponašanja u djece. Štetan učinak na zdravlje se prvenstveno vidi kod djece jer je organizam djeteta osjetljiviji i aditivi mogu lakše modulirati procese rasta i razvoja. Dnevni unosi kod djece su često puta veći od dozvoljenih zbog manjeg indeksa tjelesne mase, a dozvoljeni dnevni unosi se računaju prema tjelesnoj masi. Upotreba prehrambenih aditiva je regulirana „Pravilnikom o aditivima koji se mogu nalaziti u namirnicama“ , a koji donosi Ministarstvo zdravlja Republike Hrvatske.Nutritional additives are substances that are added during food production, transportation, design, processing and storage of food. They must be marked so that the original product have specified group name and E-number. Additives are divided into colours, preservatives, antioxidants, acidity regulators, thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, pH regulators, anti-caking agents, flavour enhancers, antibiotics and additional chemicals. Colours are added to replace the natural color of food. Preservatives prevent the propagation of microorganisms. Antioxidants inhibit oxidation process. Emulsifiers are used to stabilize the mixture and the stabilizers are used to store a stable structure. Thickeners give a certain density, flavor enhancers enhance the effect of aroma and acidity regulators maintain acidity to extend the shelf life of foods. Although the majority of food additives are safe, some can be toxic and even carcinogenic. They are associated with the induction of migraine, allergy, asthma, obesity and behavioral disorders in children. Adverse health effects are mainly seen in children because the child's body is more vulnerable and additives can easily modulate the processes of growth and development .Daily intake in children are often higher than the allowable due to lower body mass index, and allowed daily intake is calculated according to body weight . The use of food additives is regulated by the "Regulation on additives that may be present in food ," by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Croatian