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Food:
What Statistics Say and Don’t Say
Food Consumption Tends
Food Additives and How They Are Regulated
Food Consumption Trends
Americans are consuming more food
and more calories than ever before.
Food Consumption Trends Since 1950
A 25% increase in caloric intake:
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10% coming from grains (mostly refined)
9% coming from fats and oils
5% coming from added sugars
2% coming from meats and nuts
-1% coming from dairy and eggs
What is the cost for all of this
additional food?
Control costs by producing
more for relatively less.
Let’s start from scratch.
Where can you get scratch?
Consumers aren’t interested in
buying Scratch.
They want a finished product.
Food Additives
Acidulates (Citric Acid, Lactic Acid)
Anti-Caking Agents (Calcium Silicate, Silicon Dioxide)
Antioxidants (Calcium Silicate, Silicon Dioxide)
Colors (Natural, Artificial)
Emulsifiers (Lecithin, Mono and di-glycerides)
Food Additives
Flavor Enhancers (MSG)
Stabilizers (Gums, Starches, Carrageen, Pectin)
Preservatives (Nitrites, Ascorbic Acid, Sulfites, Benzoic Acid)
Sweeteners (Sugar Alcohols, Aspartame, Sucralose)
Food Additives
The term "food additive" means any substance the intended use
of which results or may reasonably be expected to result, directly
or indirectly, in its becoming a component or otherwise affecting
the characteristics of any food (including any substance intended
for use in producing, manufacturing, packing, processing,
preparing, treating, packaging, transporting, or holding food; and
including any source of radiation intended for any such use), if
such substance is not generally recognized, among experts
qualified by scientific training and experience to evaluate its
safety, as having been adequately shown through scientific
procedures (or, in the case of a substance used in food prior to
January 1, 1958, through either scientific procedures or
experience based on common use in food) to be safe under the
conditions of its intended use
Food Additives
Food Additives are added intentionally
and must undergo pre-market approval.
The burden is on manufacturer to show
that the additive is safe under
conditions of intended use.
Food Additives
There are three regulatory classes of additives:
Direct
(added directly into the food)
Indirect (may be added indirectly into the food)
Colors (added for coloration)
Food Additives
(5) In determining, for the purposes of this section, whether a proposed
use of a food additive is safe, the Secretary shall consider among other
relevant factors—
(A) the probable consumption of the additive and of any substance
formed in or on food because of the use of the additive;
(B) the cumulative effect of such additive in the diet of man or animals,
taking into account any chemically or pharmacologically related
substance or substances in such diet; and
(C) safety factors which in the opinion of experts qualified by scientific
training and experience to evaluate the safety of food additives are
generally recognized as appropriate for the use of animal
experimentation data.
Are food additives really safe?
Statistically Speaking
They may be.
Or more accurately stated, there is
insufficient sample evidence to conclude
that probable consumption of them is not
safe.
Practically Speaking
Most approved food additives have an
excellent track record and have been widely
used with no adverse effects.
A few additives, however, over time have
proven to be unsafe and have been banned
from use.
Practically Speaking
Additives such as sulfites and MSG have
been found to have adverse effects in some
populations.
Additives such as nitrates and artificial
colors have produced statistical results in
studies that are close to significant.
Practically Speaking
Since the use of these somewhat
controversial additives only affect small
segments of the population and/or have not
been statistically shown to be harmful,
regulatory agencies have typically just
required them to be labeled so that
consumers may make their own decisions
as to their consumption.
Resources
Food and Drug Administration
United States Department of Agriculture
Food Additives and Ingredients Association