Question

Study the ingredients of various food items. Do they have some common food ingredients?

Answer 1

Hint: Healthy food gives us the nutrients and energy to grow, to be healthy and active, to play, to work, to think and to learn. Foods are directly connected to our body and mental and social well being, since each food or liquid contains specific nutrition, such as carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats, etc.

Complete answer:
Any material that is applied to a food to get a specific result is a food ingredient. The word 'food ingredient' involves food additives that are substances added to foods during manufacturing, storage or packaging for particular technological and/or functional purposes. Two kinds of food additives, direct and indirect, exist. In foods, direct food additives are added to impart particular technical or functional qualities.

For instance, stabilisers are used in fortified milk products to help prevent nutrient separation, while phosphates are used in baked goods as a leavening agent. Indirect additives are not deliberately added to food, but can, as a result of manufacturing, packaging, shipping or storage, be present in trace quantities.

Food ingredients provide convenience and enable food manufacturers to produce a broad range of healthy, appetising, uniform, nutritious and tasty foods. They are added in very limited amounts, but they contribute greatly to our large and varied supply of food, ensuring that the foods we enjoy look, taste and sound the way we have come to expect.

Some common food ingredients used in food items are preservatives, sweeteners, color additives, flavors, spices, flavor enhancers, fat replacers, nutrients, emulsifiers, yeast nutrients, firming agents, enzyme preparations, gases, etc.

Table below shows the list of food items along with the common ingredients used.

Food Items	Ingredients
Potato chips	Potato, Salt, spices, Preservatives
Tomato Ketchup	Salt, sugar, spices, Tomato puree, food colour, preservatives
Biscuit	Refined flour. Salt, sugar, butter, vegetable oil, preservatives
Instant noodle	Refined flour, salt, sugar, spices, preservatives, vegetable oil
Bread	Refined flour, sugar, milk solids, butter, preservatives.

Note: Food additives have to be tested before adding into the food items for possible adverse effects on human health. The international body responsible for determining the protection of food additives is the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). WHO encourages national authorities to control and ensure that food additives manufactured in their countries in food and beverages comply with the approved uses, conditions and laws. National authorities should supervise the food industry, which is mainly responsible for ensuring that the use of food additives is healthy and complies with the law. Food preservatives are added so as to increase the shelf life of the food articles.