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在魔术界，凭借着各式道具和技艺，魔术师可以出神入化地变出各种光怪陆离的魔术。在如今的食品加工行业中，即使一个普通人，也能像变魔术一般变出各种色香味俱全的食品。其实，秘诀并不高深复杂，只需要配比食品工业中常用的食品添加剂。然而，正是由于食品添加剂所具有的十八般武艺，反而使其一朝成为照妖镜里的妖怪，成了众矢之的。
食品添加剂里的戏法
牛奶——在清水中加入两种增稠剂，产生奶的质感；再加入一点甜味剂、一滴牛奶味香精，摇晃数秒即可。
橙味碳酸饮料——在清水中加入色素日落黄调出颜色，加入阿斯巴甜调出甜味，加入甜味剂安赛蜜使味道更甜美，加入酸度调节剂柠檬酸以达到橙子的酸味，加入甜橙味香精以接近橙子味，最后加入碳酸氢钠，摇晃数秒即可。
鲜榨橙汁——经过以上步骤调出橙味饮料后，加入果胶、增稠剂羧甲基纤维素钠，饮料便有了果肉感，摇晃数秒后产生泡沫，使其更像鲜榨果汁。
奶昔——在用食品添加剂调出的橙味饮料里，加上二氧化钛色素、牛奶味香精，摇晃数秒后即成奶昔。
果冻——在开水中加入琼脂或卡拉胶、色素、香精、甜味剂、防腐剂，放入冰箱十分钟后即成果冻。
麻辣火锅底料——在清水中加入火锅一滴香、辣椒精、色素诱惑红，不超30秒即可制成。
无肉肉丸——在清水中加入大豆蛋白粉，加入能让丸子具有弹性的焦磷酸钠，令肉丸更透明的卡拉胶，用来增鲜的5呈味核苷酸二纳，再加入牛肉味香精、焦糖色素即可。
……
以上是首都保健营养美食学会副会长王旭峰带着自己设计的食品真相揭密箱，在不同场合为公众普及食品营养和添加剂常识时所展示的一幕幕令人瞠目结舌的场景。日常生活中的普通食品竟非原材料制成，而是按相应的量配比食品添加剂调成。在人们大跌眼镜之余，随之而来的是更深层次的担忧：食品添加剂究竟是何物？日常生活中有哪些食品含有食品添加剂？对人们身体健康的影响几何？
食品添加剂究竟是何方神圣？
相关统计显示，全球食品工业每年花在食品添加剂上的投资高达200亿美元，平均每人每年要吃进6至7公斤的食品添加剂。这不禁令人疑惑，既然食品添加剂恶行累累，为何食品工业仍选择对其投巨资？为何民众仍摄入不少食品添加剂？
其实，食品添加剂并非洪水猛兽。“消费者将食品安全事件误认为是食品添加剂造成的，其主要原因是不了解食品添加剂。”中国国家食品安全风险评估中心助理研究员王华丽表示，并非添加进食品的物质就是食品添加剂，如2008年的“毒奶粉事件”中，“三聚氰胺”是被企业添加进奶粉中的，但它并不属于食品添加剂，而是非法添加物。
目前，对于食品添加剂的定义，世界各国不尽相同。其中，联合国粮农组织和世界卫生组织联合食品法规委员会认为，食品添加剂是有意识地、一般以少量添加于食品，以改善食品的外观、风味和组织结构或贮存性质的非营养物质。欧盟认为，食品添加剂是在食品的生产、加工、制备、处理、包装、运输或存贮过程中，由于技术性目的而人为添加到食品中的任何物质。美国则认为食品添加剂是指有意使用的、导致或者期望导致它们直接或间接成为食品成分或影响食品特征的物质。在中国，食品添加剂是指为改善食品品质和色、香、味以及为防腐、保鲜和加工工艺的需要而加入食品中的人工合成或者天然物质。中国的食品添加剂有23个类别，2000多个品种，包括酸度调节剂、消泡剂、抗氧化剂、漂白剂、膨松剂、着色剂、增味剂、防腐剂、甜味剂、增稠剂、香料等。
食品添加剂——现代食品工业灵魂
对于食品添加剂目前的境遇，江南大学食品安全与质量控制研究中心主任姚卫蓉在惋惜之余，坦言希望民众能对食品添加剂多一些了解，少一些误解和恐慌。据姚卫蓉女士介绍，食品添加剂并非近几年的新生事物，早在中国东汉时期就已有之。比如，使用盐卤为凝固剂制作豆腐。再如，从南宋开始，就有一矾、二碱、三盐这一油条配方的记载。“从某种程度上说，没有食品添加剂就没有现代食品工业。它之所以被誉为现代食品工业灵魂，是因为食品添加剂的确给食品工业带来诸多益处。”
据姚主任介绍，食品添加剂让食品加工时更方便。在食品加工中，使用消泡剂、助滤剂、稳定和凝固剂等，有利于食品的加工操作。例如，当使用葡萄糖酸内酯作为豆腐凝固剂时，可有利于豆腐生产的机械化和自动化。
食品添加剂能防止食品变质。例如，防腐剂可以防止由微生物引起的食品腐败变质，从而延长食品的保存期。同时，它还具有防止由微生物污染引起的食物中毒作用。抗氧化剂则可阻止或推迟食品的氧化变质，以提供食品的稳定性和耐藏性，也可防止可能有害的油脂自动氧化物质的形成。还可用来防止食品，特别是水果、蔬菜的酶促褐变与非酶褐变。
食品添加剂不仅对食品的保藏具有一定意义，还能改善食品感官性状。在规范内使用着色剂、护色剂、漂白剂、食用香料以及乳化剂、增稠剂等食品添加剂，可以明显提高食品的感官质量，满足人们的不同需要。
除了防止食物变质和改善食品感官性状，食品添加剂还有助于保持甚至提高食品的营养。在食品加工时，适当地添加某些属于天然营养范围的食品营养强化剂，可以大大提高食品的营养价值，这对防止营养不良和营养缺乏，促进营养平衡，提高人们健康水平具有重要意义。除此之外，食品添加剂还能满足一些特殊需要。例如，糖尿病人不能吃糖，但可用无营养甜味剂或低热能甜味剂替代，如三氯蔗糖或天门冬酰苯丙氨酸甲酯制成无糖食品。
罪魁祸首——违法添加
食品添加剂对食品工业有如此切实有效的好处，然而却被公众如此忌惮。究其原因，记者走访后发现，很多食品安全问题的真正幕后黑手并非食品添加剂本身，而是另有隐情。
“食品添加剂在现代食品中几乎无处不在，只要按照国家标准使用，就不会对人体健康造成危害，食品添加剂不等于有毒。在中国，食品添加剂常常被‘妖魔化’。可以说，没有食品添加剂就没有现代食品工业，谁也不愿看到食盐结块、食用油酸败、熟肉制品变质腐坏、口香糖消失等情况。也正因为与每个人的生活息息相关，才更需要确保安全。要做到这一点，无外乎使用合理的食品添加剂，以及合理使用食品添加剂。”食品添加剂研究领域的权威专家、北京工商大学食品学院孙宝国院士如是说。 然而，事实证明，目前这两方面都出现了不少问题。人们在选择食品的时候，往往要求色、香、味俱全。为了迎合这一需求，商家在食品制作加工过程中便选择了滥用食品添加剂。“由于食品生产、加工、销售等环节监管乏力，食品添加剂市场乱象丛生，非法、超量超范围使用等问题普遍存在。如果把非法添加以及超量、超范围使用食品添加剂的罪名扣到食品添加剂的头上，显然并不公平。”
专家统计发现，由于食品添加剂问题而导致食品不合格的情况可大致归为三种：第一种是故意添加，而且超量添加。比如，部分企业为了延长食品保质期，弃国家标准中对添加剂剂量的强制性要求于不顾，过量添加防腐剂；第二种是企业“秤”不准。比如，部分企业由于计量设备简单陈旧，难以精确控制使用量，很容易出现超标情况；第三种是添加不允许使用的非食用性化学物质，比如苏丹红、三聚氰胺等。
过度担忧
除了企业的逐利性以及监管部门的缺失外，食品添加剂的尴尬现状还与当前有关食品添加剂的报道有关。中国工程院院士孙宝国表示，目前，一些缺乏科学依据的食品安全问题传播速度非常快。比如，最近有报道称吃面包相当于啃鞋底等。诸如此类的报道从标题制作上甚是吸引眼球，其实都是误导公众。“可口可乐里面有磷酸，那能说喝可乐就等于喝磷酸吗？名人并不等于专家，就算专家也并非各个领域的全能专家。在中国，对食品安全事件引发的社会恐慌所造成的损失，远远高于食品安全问题本身所造成的直接损失。最后导致的结果就是老百姓对国产食品不信任，缺乏信心”。
以婴幼儿配方奶粉为例，有人问及婴幼儿配方奶粉为何备受青睐时，孙宝国回答称因为“里面有食品添加剂，它是除了母乳以外最好的替代品”。“一般来讲，一个好的婴幼儿配方奶粉至少有30种以上的食品添加剂，不然这个奶粉不可能好。中国老百姓普遍对食品添加剂怕得要命，但是孩子刚出生后，我们就给他吃有三四十种食品添加剂的婴幼儿配方奶粉，这不是矛盾吗？所以说我们对食品添加剂的过度担忧是无根据的。”
对此，美国普度大学农业与生物系食品工程专业博士云无心表示，目前的食品添加剂恐慌，与法规在制定中不够公开透明不无关系。在食品添加剂、新食品加工技术的发展中，会有诸多方面的研究，而且这些研究结果之间还有互相不一致的地方。公共决策的制定，只能是依据当前状态下对于该物质、该技术的认识，按照风险评估的原则来作出一个“判断”。这一“判断”有多合理，取决于对于当前科学证据的把握有多完善。这不是由一两项研究来决定的，而必须整合与之相关的所有研究结论。因为缺乏这样的专业报告，一些人就可以“挑选”符合其立场的研究结果，夸大甚至扭曲其意义，忽视其他研究，过度引申从而很轻易地煽动公众情绪。
In the magic world， by virtue of different tools and skills， magicians can perform various conjuring tricks. In today’s food processing industry， even an ordinary person can make all kinds of delicious food like magic. In fact， the secret is not complex. It just needs food additives which are commonly used in food industry. However， just because food additives have so many magical advantages， they become the target of public criticism.
Tricks of food additives
Milk -- what is needed is just adding two thickening agents in pure water to create the quality of milk， adding some sweetening agents and a drop of essence with milk flavor and shaking it for several seconds.
Sodas with orange flavor -- adding sunset yellow FCF in pure water to make the color， aspartame to produce the sweetness， sweetening agent acesulfame to make the flavor sweeter， acidity regulator citric acid to produce the acidity of oranges， essence with the flavor of sweet orange to make the flavor of oranges， and finally adding sodium bicarbonate and shaking for several seconds.
Freshly squeezed orange juice -- what is needed is just adding pectin and thickening agent sodium carboxymethylcellulose into the above sodas to make the flavor of fruits and shaking for several seconds.
Milk shake -- what is needed is just adding titanium dioxide pigment， essence with milk flavor into the drinks with the flavor of oranges made by food additives， and shaking for several seconds. Jelly -- what is needed is just adding agar-agar or carrageenan， pigment， essence， sweetening agent， preservative to hot water and keeping it in the fridge for ten minutes.
Spicy hotpot condiment -- what is needed is just adding a product named ‘a drop of essence’， chilli extract and allura red pigment to purify water.
Meatless meatballs -- adding soy protein albumen powder in the pure water， sodium pyrophosphate to make meatballs flexible， carrageenan to make them more transparent， disodium 5'-ribonucleotide to make them fresher， essence with beef flavor and caramel pigment.
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All the above surprising facts are revealed by Vice Chairman of Capital Health Food Nutrition Institution Wang Xufeng. The common food in our daily life is not made with raw materials but with food additives in a corresponding matching. Alongside people’s surprise， deeper concerns are followed： What on earth are food additives？ What kinds of food have food additives in daily life？ What are their impacts on people’s health？
What on earth are food additives？
According to relevant statistics， every year the investment in food additives is as high as $20 billion. Each person eats 6-7 kg food additives on average every year. Why does food industry choose to make enormous investment in food additives while they have so many bad effects？ Why do people take in quite a lot of additives？
In fact， food additives are not dreadful monsters. “Consumers have a misconception that food safety events are caused by food additives mainly because they are not familiar with them.” Research assistant of China National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center Wang Huali said that not all the substances added into food were food additives. He said， for example， in the “powdered milk incident” in 2008， “melamine” was added into the milk powder by the enterprises， which was not a food additive but an illegal matter.
Nowadays， different countries have different definitions of food additives. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Codex Alimentarius Commission of World Health Organization think that food additives are non-nutrient substances that are consciously added into food to improve the appearance， flavor， organizational structure or the storage properties of food， generally in a small amount. The EU believes that food additives are any substances that are added into food artificially for technical purposes in food production， processing， preparation， packaging， transporting or storage. In the United States， food additives refer to the substances that are used purposefully and cause or intend to cause the changes in ingredients or characteristics of food directly or indirectly. In China， food additives mean the synthetic or natural substances that are added into food for the sake of corrosion protection， preservation and processing technology and improving the quality， color， aroma and taste. Chinese food additives have 23 categories and more than 2000 varieties， including acidity regulators， defoaming agents， antioxidants， bleach， raising agents， colorants， flavoring agents， preservatives， sweeteners， thickening agents， spices， etc. Food additives -- the soul of modern food industry
As to the current situation of food additives， Director of Food Safety and Quality Control Center of Jiangnan University Yao Weirong said that people should know more about food additives to avoid misunderstandings and panics. She said food additives were not something new in recent years and they existed as early as in the Eastern Han Dynasty of China， such as using bittern as coagulator to make Tofu. Since Southern Song Dynasty， there has been the record of recipe of fried bread stick with alum， alkali and sault. "To some extent， without food additives， there is no modern food industry. Food additives are regarded as the soul of modern food industry because they indeed bring many benefits to the food industry."
According to Ms. Yao， food additives make the food procession more convenient. Defoaming agent， filter aid， stability and curing agent are advantageous to the food processing. For example， using glucose acid lactone as a curing agent for Tofu can help the mechanization and automation of Tofu production.
Food additives can prevent food from going bad. For example， the preservatives can prevent food metamorphism caused by microorganism so as to prolong the shelf life of food. At the same time， it can also prevent food from poisoning caused by microbial contamination. Antioxidants can prevent or delay the oxidation to maintain the stability and resistance of food and prevent the formation of harmful grease oxide. They can also be used to prevent the enzymatic browning and non-enzymatic browning of food， especially fruits and vegetables.
Food additives are important for food preservation and can also improve the sensory properties of food. Food additives such as colorants， color fixative， decolorizer， flavoring agent， emulsifier and thickener used according to normal standards can significantly improve the sensory quality of food in order to meet different needs of all people.
In addition to preventing food spoilage and improving the sensory properties of food， food additives also help maintain or even improve the nutrition of food. In food processing， adding some natural nutrition fortifier properly can greatly improve the nutritional value of food， which is of great significance to prevent malnutrition， promote nutritional balance and improve people's health. In addition， food additives can also meet some special needs. For example， people who have diabetes can't eat sugar but can eat non-nutritional sweetener or low-calorie sweetener， such as sugar-free foods made of sucralose or lucid asparagus acyl methyl phenylalanine. The chief culprit -- illegal addition
Although food additives have so many benefits for food industry， the public show great fear towards them. The reporter finds that the prime reason for the problem of food safety is not food additive itself but something else.
"Food additives can be seen almost everywhere in modern foods. As long as they are used according to the national standards， they will not cause any harm to human’s health. Food additives are not toxic. In China， food additives are often 'demonized'. It can be said that without food additives， there is no modern food industry. No one would like to see the caking of salt， the rancidity of edible oil， the spoilage of cooked meat product and the disappearance of chewing gum. It is closely related to everyone's life， so it needs to ensure the safety. To achieve this， it requires reasonable food additives and rational use of food additives，" an authoritative expert of food additive research field and Director of Food Institute of Beijing Industry and Commerce University Sun Baoguo said.
However， the fact proves that both aspects have many problems at present. When people choose food， they usually consider color， aroma and taste. In order to cater to the demand， businessmen choose the abusive use of food additives in the food production process. Because of lacking supervision in food production， processing and sales， food additive market is in a mess with a lot of illegal problems. It is unfair to blame these problems on food additives."
Experts find that all the problems of unqualified food because of food additives can be roughly classified into three types. The first one is intentional excessive addition. For example， some enterprises excessively add preservatives in order to prolong the shelf life in violation of the mandatory requirements of national standards. The second is the "scales" of enterprises are not accurate. For example， since the measuring equipments in some enterprises are too simple and old to precisely control the usage， food additives are easy to be added excessively. The third one is the adding of uneatable chemicals not allowed to be used， such as Sudan red， melamine， etc.
Excessive apprehension
Besides the pursuit of profits of enterprises and lack of supervision department， the awkward situation of food additives is related to the reporting of it. According to Sun Baoguo， academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering， currently， the food safety issues lacking scientific evidence are spreading very fast. For instance， recently it was reported that eating bread equaled eating shoe soles. Reports like this attract the eyes of the public while actually they are misleading. “There is phosphoricacid in coca cola. Does drinking coca cola amount to drinking phosphoricacid？ Not all celebrities are experts and even an expert does not excel in every field. In China， the loss caused by social panic of food safety is much more than that by food safety itself. The final result is that the public lose confidence in domestic food.” Take the example of milk powder of infant formula. When asked why milk powder of infant formula is so popular， Sun Baoguo said “because it has food additives which are the best alternative other than breast milk.” “Generally speaking， there are at least over thirty kinds of food additives in a high-quality milk powder of infant formula， otherwise it cannot be good. Chinese ordinary people are so afraid of food additives， but after the birth of their children， they feed them with milk powder of infant formula with almost forty kinds of food additives. Isn’t this contradictory？ Therefore our excessive concern with food additives is groundless.”
As to this， Yun Wuxin， the doctor of Food Engineering of Agriculture and Biology Department， Purdue University， said that the panic over food additives is closely related to the fact that the regulation is not open and transparent enough in the system. In the development of food additives and new food processing technology， there are a lot of researches and the research results even contradict with each other. The formulating of public policies is only based on the current knowledge of the matter and technology and in accordance with the principle of risks evaluation to make a “judgment”. How reasonable the “judgment” can be depends on how sound we have grasped the scientific evidence. This cannot be determined by one or two researches. We have to integrate all related research results. Due to the lack of this kind of professional reports， some people neglecting other researches choose the research results supporting them and exaggerate and even twist the meaning to make excessive extension and incite the public’s emotions easily.
食品添加剂里的戏法
牛奶——在清水中加入两种增稠剂，产生奶的质感；再加入一点甜味剂、一滴牛奶味香精，摇晃数秒即可。
橙味碳酸饮料——在清水中加入色素日落黄调出颜色，加入阿斯巴甜调出甜味，加入甜味剂安赛蜜使味道更甜美，加入酸度调节剂柠檬酸以达到橙子的酸味，加入甜橙味香精以接近橙子味，最后加入碳酸氢钠，摇晃数秒即可。
鲜榨橙汁——经过以上步骤调出橙味饮料后，加入果胶、增稠剂羧甲基纤维素钠，饮料便有了果肉感，摇晃数秒后产生泡沫，使其更像鲜榨果汁。
奶昔——在用食品添加剂调出的橙味饮料里，加上二氧化钛色素、牛奶味香精，摇晃数秒后即成奶昔。
果冻——在开水中加入琼脂或卡拉胶、色素、香精、甜味剂、防腐剂，放入冰箱十分钟后即成果冻。
麻辣火锅底料——在清水中加入火锅一滴香、辣椒精、色素诱惑红，不超30秒即可制成。
无肉肉丸——在清水中加入大豆蛋白粉，加入能让丸子具有弹性的焦磷酸钠，令肉丸更透明的卡拉胶，用来增鲜的5呈味核苷酸二纳，再加入牛肉味香精、焦糖色素即可。
……
以上是首都保健营养美食学会副会长王旭峰带着自己设计的食品真相揭密箱，在不同场合为公众普及食品营养和添加剂常识时所展示的一幕幕令人瞠目结舌的场景。日常生活中的普通食品竟非原材料制成，而是按相应的量配比食品添加剂调成。在人们大跌眼镜之余，随之而来的是更深层次的担忧：食品添加剂究竟是何物？日常生活中有哪些食品含有食品添加剂？对人们身体健康的影响几何？
食品添加剂究竟是何方神圣？
相关统计显示，全球食品工业每年花在食品添加剂上的投资高达200亿美元，平均每人每年要吃进6至7公斤的食品添加剂。这不禁令人疑惑，既然食品添加剂恶行累累，为何食品工业仍选择对其投巨资？为何民众仍摄入不少食品添加剂？
其实，食品添加剂并非洪水猛兽。“消费者将食品安全事件误认为是食品添加剂造成的，其主要原因是不了解食品添加剂。”中国国家食品安全风险评估中心助理研究员王华丽表示，并非添加进食品的物质就是食品添加剂，如2008年的“毒奶粉事件”中，“三聚氰胺”是被企业添加进奶粉中的，但它并不属于食品添加剂，而是非法添加物。
目前，对于食品添加剂的定义，世界各国不尽相同。其中，联合国粮农组织和世界卫生组织联合食品法规委员会认为，食品添加剂是有意识地、一般以少量添加于食品，以改善食品的外观、风味和组织结构或贮存性质的非营养物质。欧盟认为，食品添加剂是在食品的生产、加工、制备、处理、包装、运输或存贮过程中，由于技术性目的而人为添加到食品中的任何物质。美国则认为食品添加剂是指有意使用的、导致或者期望导致它们直接或间接成为食品成分或影响食品特征的物质。在中国，食品添加剂是指为改善食品品质和色、香、味以及为防腐、保鲜和加工工艺的需要而加入食品中的人工合成或者天然物质。中国的食品添加剂有23个类别，2000多个品种，包括酸度调节剂、消泡剂、抗氧化剂、漂白剂、膨松剂、着色剂、增味剂、防腐剂、甜味剂、增稠剂、香料等。
食品添加剂——现代食品工业灵魂
对于食品添加剂目前的境遇，江南大学食品安全与质量控制研究中心主任姚卫蓉在惋惜之余，坦言希望民众能对食品添加剂多一些了解，少一些误解和恐慌。据姚卫蓉女士介绍，食品添加剂并非近几年的新生事物，早在中国东汉时期就已有之。比如，使用盐卤为凝固剂制作豆腐。再如，从南宋开始，就有一矾、二碱、三盐这一油条配方的记载。“从某种程度上说，没有食品添加剂就没有现代食品工业。它之所以被誉为现代食品工业灵魂，是因为食品添加剂的确给食品工业带来诸多益处。”
据姚主任介绍，食品添加剂让食品加工时更方便。在食品加工中，使用消泡剂、助滤剂、稳定和凝固剂等，有利于食品的加工操作。例如，当使用葡萄糖酸内酯作为豆腐凝固剂时，可有利于豆腐生产的机械化和自动化。
食品添加剂能防止食品变质。例如，防腐剂可以防止由微生物引起的食品腐败变质，从而延长食品的保存期。同时，它还具有防止由微生物污染引起的食物中毒作用。抗氧化剂则可阻止或推迟食品的氧化变质，以提供食品的稳定性和耐藏性，也可防止可能有害的油脂自动氧化物质的形成。还可用来防止食品，特别是水果、蔬菜的酶促褐变与非酶褐变。
食品添加剂不仅对食品的保藏具有一定意义，还能改善食品感官性状。在规范内使用着色剂、护色剂、漂白剂、食用香料以及乳化剂、增稠剂等食品添加剂，可以明显提高食品的感官质量，满足人们的不同需要。
除了防止食物变质和改善食品感官性状，食品添加剂还有助于保持甚至提高食品的营养。在食品加工时，适当地添加某些属于天然营养范围的食品营养强化剂，可以大大提高食品的营养价值，这对防止营养不良和营养缺乏，促进营养平衡，提高人们健康水平具有重要意义。除此之外，食品添加剂还能满足一些特殊需要。例如，糖尿病人不能吃糖，但可用无营养甜味剂或低热能甜味剂替代，如三氯蔗糖或天门冬酰苯丙氨酸甲酯制成无糖食品。
罪魁祸首——违法添加
食品添加剂对食品工业有如此切实有效的好处，然而却被公众如此忌惮。究其原因，记者走访后发现，很多食品安全问题的真正幕后黑手并非食品添加剂本身，而是另有隐情。
“食品添加剂在现代食品中几乎无处不在，只要按照国家标准使用，就不会对人体健康造成危害，食品添加剂不等于有毒。在中国，食品添加剂常常被‘妖魔化’。可以说，没有食品添加剂就没有现代食品工业，谁也不愿看到食盐结块、食用油酸败、熟肉制品变质腐坏、口香糖消失等情况。也正因为与每个人的生活息息相关，才更需要确保安全。要做到这一点，无外乎使用合理的食品添加剂，以及合理使用食品添加剂。”食品添加剂研究领域的权威专家、北京工商大学食品学院孙宝国院士如是说。 然而，事实证明，目前这两方面都出现了不少问题。人们在选择食品的时候，往往要求色、香、味俱全。为了迎合这一需求，商家在食品制作加工过程中便选择了滥用食品添加剂。“由于食品生产、加工、销售等环节监管乏力，食品添加剂市场乱象丛生，非法、超量超范围使用等问题普遍存在。如果把非法添加以及超量、超范围使用食品添加剂的罪名扣到食品添加剂的头上，显然并不公平。”
专家统计发现，由于食品添加剂问题而导致食品不合格的情况可大致归为三种：第一种是故意添加，而且超量添加。比如，部分企业为了延长食品保质期，弃国家标准中对添加剂剂量的强制性要求于不顾，过量添加防腐剂；第二种是企业“秤”不准。比如，部分企业由于计量设备简单陈旧，难以精确控制使用量，很容易出现超标情况；第三种是添加不允许使用的非食用性化学物质，比如苏丹红、三聚氰胺等。
过度担忧
除了企业的逐利性以及监管部门的缺失外，食品添加剂的尴尬现状还与当前有关食品添加剂的报道有关。中国工程院院士孙宝国表示，目前，一些缺乏科学依据的食品安全问题传播速度非常快。比如，最近有报道称吃面包相当于啃鞋底等。诸如此类的报道从标题制作上甚是吸引眼球，其实都是误导公众。“可口可乐里面有磷酸，那能说喝可乐就等于喝磷酸吗？名人并不等于专家，就算专家也并非各个领域的全能专家。在中国，对食品安全事件引发的社会恐慌所造成的损失，远远高于食品安全问题本身所造成的直接损失。最后导致的结果就是老百姓对国产食品不信任，缺乏信心”。
以婴幼儿配方奶粉为例，有人问及婴幼儿配方奶粉为何备受青睐时，孙宝国回答称因为“里面有食品添加剂，它是除了母乳以外最好的替代品”。“一般来讲，一个好的婴幼儿配方奶粉至少有30种以上的食品添加剂，不然这个奶粉不可能好。中国老百姓普遍对食品添加剂怕得要命，但是孩子刚出生后，我们就给他吃有三四十种食品添加剂的婴幼儿配方奶粉，这不是矛盾吗？所以说我们对食品添加剂的过度担忧是无根据的。”
对此，美国普度大学农业与生物系食品工程专业博士云无心表示，目前的食品添加剂恐慌，与法规在制定中不够公开透明不无关系。在食品添加剂、新食品加工技术的发展中，会有诸多方面的研究，而且这些研究结果之间还有互相不一致的地方。公共决策的制定，只能是依据当前状态下对于该物质、该技术的认识，按照风险评估的原则来作出一个“判断”。这一“判断”有多合理，取决于对于当前科学证据的把握有多完善。这不是由一两项研究来决定的，而必须整合与之相关的所有研究结论。因为缺乏这样的专业报告，一些人就可以“挑选”符合其立场的研究结果，夸大甚至扭曲其意义，忽视其他研究，过度引申从而很轻易地煽动公众情绪。
In the magic world， by virtue of different tools and skills， magicians can perform various conjuring tricks. In today’s food processing industry， even an ordinary person can make all kinds of delicious food like magic. In fact， the secret is not complex. It just needs food additives which are commonly used in food industry. However， just because food additives have so many magical advantages， they become the target of public criticism.
Tricks of food additives
Milk -- what is needed is just adding two thickening agents in pure water to create the quality of milk， adding some sweetening agents and a drop of essence with milk flavor and shaking it for several seconds.
Sodas with orange flavor -- adding sunset yellow FCF in pure water to make the color， aspartame to produce the sweetness， sweetening agent acesulfame to make the flavor sweeter， acidity regulator citric acid to produce the acidity of oranges， essence with the flavor of sweet orange to make the flavor of oranges， and finally adding sodium bicarbonate and shaking for several seconds.
Freshly squeezed orange juice -- what is needed is just adding pectin and thickening agent sodium carboxymethylcellulose into the above sodas to make the flavor of fruits and shaking for several seconds.
Milk shake -- what is needed is just adding titanium dioxide pigment， essence with milk flavor into the drinks with the flavor of oranges made by food additives， and shaking for several seconds. Jelly -- what is needed is just adding agar-agar or carrageenan， pigment， essence， sweetening agent， preservative to hot water and keeping it in the fridge for ten minutes.
Spicy hotpot condiment -- what is needed is just adding a product named ‘a drop of essence’， chilli extract and allura red pigment to purify water.
Meatless meatballs -- adding soy protein albumen powder in the pure water， sodium pyrophosphate to make meatballs flexible， carrageenan to make them more transparent， disodium 5'-ribonucleotide to make them fresher， essence with beef flavor and caramel pigment.
……
All the above surprising facts are revealed by Vice Chairman of Capital Health Food Nutrition Institution Wang Xufeng. The common food in our daily life is not made with raw materials but with food additives in a corresponding matching. Alongside people’s surprise， deeper concerns are followed： What on earth are food additives？ What kinds of food have food additives in daily life？ What are their impacts on people’s health？
What on earth are food additives？
According to relevant statistics， every year the investment in food additives is as high as $20 billion. Each person eats 6-7 kg food additives on average every year. Why does food industry choose to make enormous investment in food additives while they have so many bad effects？ Why do people take in quite a lot of additives？
In fact， food additives are not dreadful monsters. “Consumers have a misconception that food safety events are caused by food additives mainly because they are not familiar with them.” Research assistant of China National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center Wang Huali said that not all the substances added into food were food additives. He said， for example， in the “powdered milk incident” in 2008， “melamine” was added into the milk powder by the enterprises， which was not a food additive but an illegal matter.
Nowadays， different countries have different definitions of food additives. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Codex Alimentarius Commission of World Health Organization think that food additives are non-nutrient substances that are consciously added into food to improve the appearance， flavor， organizational structure or the storage properties of food， generally in a small amount. The EU believes that food additives are any substances that are added into food artificially for technical purposes in food production， processing， preparation， packaging， transporting or storage. In the United States， food additives refer to the substances that are used purposefully and cause or intend to cause the changes in ingredients or characteristics of food directly or indirectly. In China， food additives mean the synthetic or natural substances that are added into food for the sake of corrosion protection， preservation and processing technology and improving the quality， color， aroma and taste. Chinese food additives have 23 categories and more than 2000 varieties， including acidity regulators， defoaming agents， antioxidants， bleach， raising agents， colorants， flavoring agents， preservatives， sweeteners， thickening agents， spices， etc. Food additives -- the soul of modern food industry
As to the current situation of food additives， Director of Food Safety and Quality Control Center of Jiangnan University Yao Weirong said that people should know more about food additives to avoid misunderstandings and panics. She said food additives were not something new in recent years and they existed as early as in the Eastern Han Dynasty of China， such as using bittern as coagulator to make Tofu. Since Southern Song Dynasty， there has been the record of recipe of fried bread stick with alum， alkali and sault. "To some extent， without food additives， there is no modern food industry. Food additives are regarded as the soul of modern food industry because they indeed bring many benefits to the food industry."
According to Ms. Yao， food additives make the food procession more convenient. Defoaming agent， filter aid， stability and curing agent are advantageous to the food processing. For example， using glucose acid lactone as a curing agent for Tofu can help the mechanization and automation of Tofu production.
Food additives can prevent food from going bad. For example， the preservatives can prevent food metamorphism caused by microorganism so as to prolong the shelf life of food. At the same time， it can also prevent food from poisoning caused by microbial contamination. Antioxidants can prevent or delay the oxidation to maintain the stability and resistance of food and prevent the formation of harmful grease oxide. They can also be used to prevent the enzymatic browning and non-enzymatic browning of food， especially fruits and vegetables.
Food additives are important for food preservation and can also improve the sensory properties of food. Food additives such as colorants， color fixative， decolorizer， flavoring agent， emulsifier and thickener used according to normal standards can significantly improve the sensory quality of food in order to meet different needs of all people.
In addition to preventing food spoilage and improving the sensory properties of food， food additives also help maintain or even improve the nutrition of food. In food processing， adding some natural nutrition fortifier properly can greatly improve the nutritional value of food， which is of great significance to prevent malnutrition， promote nutritional balance and improve people's health. In addition， food additives can also meet some special needs. For example， people who have diabetes can't eat sugar but can eat non-nutritional sweetener or low-calorie sweetener， such as sugar-free foods made of sucralose or lucid asparagus acyl methyl phenylalanine. The chief culprit -- illegal addition
Although food additives have so many benefits for food industry， the public show great fear towards them. The reporter finds that the prime reason for the problem of food safety is not food additive itself but something else.
"Food additives can be seen almost everywhere in modern foods. As long as they are used according to the national standards， they will not cause any harm to human’s health. Food additives are not toxic. In China， food additives are often 'demonized'. It can be said that without food additives， there is no modern food industry. No one would like to see the caking of salt， the rancidity of edible oil， the spoilage of cooked meat product and the disappearance of chewing gum. It is closely related to everyone's life， so it needs to ensure the safety. To achieve this， it requires reasonable food additives and rational use of food additives，" an authoritative expert of food additive research field and Director of Food Institute of Beijing Industry and Commerce University Sun Baoguo said.
However， the fact proves that both aspects have many problems at present. When people choose food， they usually consider color， aroma and taste. In order to cater to the demand， businessmen choose the abusive use of food additives in the food production process. Because of lacking supervision in food production， processing and sales， food additive market is in a mess with a lot of illegal problems. It is unfair to blame these problems on food additives."
Experts find that all the problems of unqualified food because of food additives can be roughly classified into three types. The first one is intentional excessive addition. For example， some enterprises excessively add preservatives in order to prolong the shelf life in violation of the mandatory requirements of national standards. The second is the "scales" of enterprises are not accurate. For example， since the measuring equipments in some enterprises are too simple and old to precisely control the usage， food additives are easy to be added excessively. The third one is the adding of uneatable chemicals not allowed to be used， such as Sudan red， melamine， etc.
Excessive apprehension
Besides the pursuit of profits of enterprises and lack of supervision department， the awkward situation of food additives is related to the reporting of it. According to Sun Baoguo， academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering， currently， the food safety issues lacking scientific evidence are spreading very fast. For instance， recently it was reported that eating bread equaled eating shoe soles. Reports like this attract the eyes of the public while actually they are misleading. “There is phosphoricacid in coca cola. Does drinking coca cola amount to drinking phosphoricacid？ Not all celebrities are experts and even an expert does not excel in every field. In China， the loss caused by social panic of food safety is much more than that by food safety itself. The final result is that the public lose confidence in domestic food.” Take the example of milk powder of infant formula. When asked why milk powder of infant formula is so popular， Sun Baoguo said “because it has food additives which are the best alternative other than breast milk.” “Generally speaking， there are at least over thirty kinds of food additives in a high-quality milk powder of infant formula， otherwise it cannot be good. Chinese ordinary people are so afraid of food additives， but after the birth of their children， they feed them with milk powder of infant formula with almost forty kinds of food additives. Isn’t this contradictory？ Therefore our excessive concern with food additives is groundless.”
As to this， Yun Wuxin， the doctor of Food Engineering of Agriculture and Biology Department， Purdue University， said that the panic over food additives is closely related to the fact that the regulation is not open and transparent enough in the system. In the development of food additives and new food processing technology， there are a lot of researches and the research results even contradict with each other. The formulating of public policies is only based on the current knowledge of the matter and technology and in accordance with the principle of risks evaluation to make a “judgment”. How reasonable the “judgment” can be depends on how sound we have grasped the scientific evidence. This cannot be determined by one or two researches. We have to integrate all related research results. Due to the lack of this kind of professional reports， some people neglecting other researches choose the research results supporting them and exaggerate and even twist the meaning to make excessive extension and incite the public’s emotions easily.