kl+Modern+Foods+Sold+In+The+Supermarket+Are+No+More+Than+A+Cocktail+Of+Chemicals?

Modern Foods Sold In The Supermarket Are No More Than A Cocktail Of Chemicals? In my opinion, i am agree with this statement. this is because we need so much chemicals to help to produce food, make it to have a  longer shelf life, and make it attractive to customer and enhance the food quality . I will show my example and reasons at below.

From any supermarket, we can buy all kinds of foods and beverages that we like. And the most of the manufacturers will prefer their products to have a longer shelf life so that their products can be put at supermarket for a longer time wait to be sold out. Thus, the manufacturer will add chemicals to their products in order to make the products to have a longer self -life. They will add preservatives to their products. the preservative is added to food to prevent the decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical changes to make food product have a longer shelf life.the common antimicrobial preservatives are calcium propionate, sodium nitrate,disodium EDTA. the example of preservatives that also act as antioxidants are BHA and BHT. the other example of preservatives are formaldehyde( in solution), glutaraldehyde ( kill insects) and etanol.

Next, the manufacturers also want their products look attractive to consumers since they have so many competiton among them. so, the manufacturers will add colour and flavor to their products in order to promote their products. Coloring additives are added to make the food colorful and attractive. in pudding, cakes, jams, sauces, and jelly, the manufacturers always use tartrazine E102 or FDC yellow 5 which is a synthetic lemon yellow azodye. besides, in order to add flavor to food, their will add flavoring agent to the products. commonly, the flavoring agent is aroma compound that has smell and odor. For example octyacetate and fructone which have apple or pineapple like smell. Limonene which have a similar flavor as orange. flavoring agent play an important role to enhance or alter the flavors of natural food product such as meat and vegetable. it is important to create flavor for food products that do not have the desired flavors ( candy and snacks).

In addition, some manufacturers also add acidulant to their products. Acidulant is additive that give a sharp taste to food and assist in the setting of gels and to act as preservative. those acidulants that are widely used are citric acid, acetic acid, fumaric acid, lactic acid, malic acid, phosphoric acid, tartaric acid etc. The acetic acid is wisely used in pickling industry, confectionery goods and flavoring. it also have excellent bacteriostatic properties so it can act as preservative too. Phosporic acid is used widely in food industry because of its use in one single product that is produced in massive amount, that is COLA drinks. Salt of phosphoric acid can act as buffers, acidulants for baking powders and emulsifying salts in the production of processed cheese.

Moreover, some of the foods contained added form of nutrients or chemical substances that are permitted. this can reduce risks of nutrient differences in some group of people which may be caused by low intake of particular nutrient. besides, this can add back those nutrients that may lost through processing and also improve the self life of products so that the consumers can store it for longer time to reduce wasted. for example, aspartame used as sweetener for food and drinks. Aspartame is a low calories sweetener that has been used as safe alternative to sugar ( in soft drinks and yogurt). Aspartame will not cause tooth decay. another example of food that is bread that is fortified with a lot of nutrients such as calcium, vitamin B, vitamin A, etc. by consuming this type of bread, we can get the nutrients that we may hard to get in our normal diet.

In conclusion, although modern foods sold at supermarket is a cocktail of chemical, its chemical substances are playing vital roles in making the food to have a longer shelf life, and make it attractive to customer and enhance the food quality. as a consumer, we must choose our food product wisely.