How to be sensible about food additives and processed food safety?

There are more than 2,300 types of food additives in China, with 23 categories; there are more than 4,000 in Europe and the United States.

According to the Food Safety Law, food additives are synthetic or natural chemical substances added to food to improve the quality, colour, flavour and taste of food, as well as for preservative, freshness and processing needs.

Food additives meet the taste and nutritional needs of consumers.

Any species that are not permitted in the National Standard for Food Safety Food Additive Use (GB2760) and the National Health and Safety Commission's announcement are not permitted food additives, such as the common Sudan Red and melamine. According to China's food additive management category, there are currently more than 2,300 varieties of food additives allowed, divided into 23 categories according to functional categories, of which there are nearly 1,800 varieties of food additives in spices.

The use of food additives in food has two main needs: on the one hand, the needs of the food processing process, and on the other hand, the needs of consumers for the taste or nutritional needs of food. Consumers are able to buy a wide range of food products in supermarkets, thanks in large part to food additives.

Without preservatives, many foods would spoil within a short period of time and would not be able to be transported over long distances, thus reducing the range of food options available to consumers.

China has introduced a series of national standards for food safety and has established a relatively comprehensive system of national food safety standards for food additives, mainly covering the following areas.

Firstly, the food additive use standard (GB2760) is the main line and soul of the entire national standard system for food safety of food additives, around which product standards and labelling standards are developed.

Secondly, the GB2760 food additive use standard is accompanied by product quality specification standards, such as the permitted use of an additive, its main content requirements, and contaminant requirements, all of which are regulated by its product standards.

The third major category of system standards is the standard for testing methods for food additives in food; the fourth is the standard for labelling of food additives, for example, the sale of a food additive requires labelling in accordance with the requirements of GB29924 "General Rules for the Labelling of Food Additives, National Standard for Food Safety".

Throughout the system, more than 600 national standards for food safety of food additives have been developed and published, which basically meet the current regulatory and industry needs of China.

GB29987 "National Standard for Food Safety Food Additives Gum base and its ingredients" is also very advanced in international terms.