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2 Uses of Chemicals in the Food and Beverage Industry
(a) Food protection (preservatives, antimicrobials, antioxidants, coating agents,
gases for modified atmosphere treatments, etc.)
(b) Colorants
(c) Sweetening agents
(d) Structure and technology enhancers (gelling agents, melting salts, propellants,
stabilizers, thickeners, etc.).
By the chemical point of view, the property of each food additive is related to the
declared use. Above all, the risk for food operators has to be linked with the use in
a peculiar production step and with the physical form (liquid, solid, powder). By the
technological viewpoint, the classification of these substances with the ‘International
Numbering System (INS) for Food Additives’ is relevant enough (Laganà et al. 2017a,
b, c, d) because of the link between INS numbers and their chemical functions with
associated chemical attributions. On these bases, food additives may be roughly
classified as follows (several categories may be not shown here):
(1) Acidity regulators: salts such as carbonates
(2) Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and carbonated generators (carbon dioxide itself, some
carbonates)
(3) Salts with anticaking properties
(4) Waxes and other synthetic materials with antifoaming features
(5) Antioxidant agents such as strong acids (phosphoric acid, some salt)
(6) Oxidant agents such as chlorine
(7) Carriers, colorants (e.g., calcium lactobionate, potassium alginate)
(8) Emulsifying agents, flavoring agents, er (e.g., powdered cellulose)
(9) Foamers (nitrogen, an interesting ‘food gas’)
(10) Gelifying agents (several gums)
(11) General packaging gases or ‘food gases,’ including propellants (e.g., CO 2 )
(12) Preservatives (some organic acids and salts are present here)
(13) Raising agents (several acids and salts).
This classification is extremely difficult also because one single chemical can be
found in more than one single category. With reference to our aims, a specific acid
with different functions (and some important safety norms when speaking of food
operators) is discussed in Sect. 2.2.1.
2.2.1 Citric Acid
According to the ‘Codex General Standard for Food Additives’ (Alimentarius 1995),
last revision 2018, citric acid (INS code: E330) can be used in the preparation of foods
and beverages (selected categories and uses) with the following functions (which have
to be declared on food labels):
(a) Acidity regulator
(b) Antioxidant
2 Uses of Chemicals in the Food and Beverage Industry
(a) Food protection (preservatives, antimicrobials, antioxidants, coating agents,
gases for modified atmosphere treatments, etc.)
(b) Colorants
(c) Sweetening agents
(d) Structure and technology enhancers (gelling agents, melting salts, propellants,
stabilizers, thickeners, etc.).
By the chemical point of view, the property of each food additive is related to the
declared use. Above all, the risk for food operators has to be linked with the use in
a peculiar production step and with the physical form (liquid, solid, powder). By the
technological viewpoint, the classification of these substances with the ‘International
Numbering System (INS) for Food Additives’ is relevant enough (Laganà et al. 2017a,
b, c, d) because of the link between INS numbers and their chemical functions with
associated chemical attributions. On these bases, food additives may be roughly
classified as follows (several categories may be not shown here):
(1) Acidity regulators: salts such as carbonates
(2) Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and carbonated generators (carbon dioxide itself, some
carbonates)
(3) Salts with anticaking properties
(4) Waxes and other synthetic materials with antifoaming features
(5) Antioxidant agents such as strong acids (phosphoric acid, some salt)
(6) Oxidant agents such as chlorine
(7) Carriers, colorants (e.g., calcium lactobionate, potassium alginate)
(8) Emulsifying agents, flavoring agents, er (e.g., powdered cellulose)
(9) Foamers (nitrogen, an interesting ‘food gas’)
(10) Gelifying agents (several gums)
(11) General packaging gases or ‘food gases,’ including propellants (e.g., CO 2 )
(12) Preservatives (some organic acids and salts are present here)
(13) Raising agents (several acids and salts).
This classification is extremely difficult also because one single chemical can be
found in more than one single category. With reference to our aims, a specific acid
with different functions (and some important safety norms when speaking of food
operators) is discussed in Sect. 2.2.1.
2.2.1 Citric Acid
According to the ‘Codex General Standard for Food Additives’ (Alimentarius 1995),
last revision 2018, citric acid (INS code: E330) can be used in the preparation of foods
and beverages (selected categories and uses) with the following functions (which have
to be declared on food labels):
(a) Acidity regulator
(b) Antioxidant