4 additives that should not worry you

Some food additives are completely harmless And they do interesting things. They are usually found in natural products, they do not require major transformations and, if they are synthetic, our body tolerates them well.

Safe additives in food

These are the additives you shouldn’t worry about when you find them on the ingredients list.

1. Antioxidant vitamins

Some additives are nutrients, although they are not added for this reason, but for their antioxidant or coloring function. Examples are vitamins C and E. The first is a synthetic copy well assimilated by the body. The second is usually in a form (gamma-tocopherol, E308) that is not as efficiently assimilated as natural vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol, E307), but has no side effects.

2. Plants and minerals

Many additives are obtained from plants and minerals through little or no transformation. For example, agar (E406) is the fiber of algae of the genera gelidium either Gracilaria and extracted with hot water. Sodium and potassium alginates (E401 and E402), used by “molecular” chefs in their preparations, are also extracted from algae. Or vegetable or medicinal charcoal (E153), which serves as a black dye.

3. In organic food

The European regulation of organic production authorizes the use of 47 additives with “E number”. In almost all cases, their origin is natural and they are considered very safe. An exception is carrageenan (E407), obtained from red algae, which some studies indicate may have inflammatory effects on the intestine and on the immune system.

4. Demeter Certification

It is the private guarantee of food produced with the criteria of biodynamic agriculture. It is stricter than organic and only allows 17 additives of completely natural origin, non-synthetic and non-transgenic, obtained if possible organically. Some of those authorized are pectin (E440 a), sodium citrate (E331) and citric acid (E330).