Aditivos alimentarios usados en alimentos procesados

Abstract

Abstract:Food additives are substances used for technological purposes in industry, they are important allies in food development. Although they are regulated, the possible effects due to its excessive use have been studied. This work evaluated the use of food additives in 6 groups of processed foods available in four cities in southern Ecuador. Information from labels obtained in previous works carried out with the support of the UTPL were used in photographic format. A database was created in which the additives were ordered and classified according to their functional class using Codex Alimentarius. Results exposed that 32,3 % of foods of the 6 groups declared not to use additives. 20,4 % used 4 and 5 additives and 8,7% used between 10 and 25 additives. Hams and fruit drinks declared that more than 50% of their ingredients were additives. Sodium nitrite, monosodium glutamate and sodium erythorbate were the most frequently used additives. These results provide guidelines to government, health and regulatory institutions on the use of additives in processed foods and therefore their consumption by Ecuadorians.