Topic 5 - Food Additives

Question 1

Why is wax important on apples?

Answer 1

because it prevents the apple from drying up

Question 2

What is morpholine?

Answer 2

Added to make the wax easier to apply
- In the body, morpholine combines with another naturally occurring chemical to form nitroso-morpholine
• Carcinogenic in high amounts
- But in the amounts we eat it its not dangerous

Question 3

Where are nitrates found present?

Answer 3

naturally present in cabbage and form nitrosamines (carcinogenic in test animals)

Question 4

What agencies control our food?

Answer 4

Canada: Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
USA: FDA

Question 5

What did the Romans use to make their wine sweeter?

Answer 5

lead acetate

Question 6

What did the Romans use to make vegetables greener?

Answer 6

copper salt

Question 7

What did the Romans use to extend their flour?

Answer 7

“Plaster of Paris” CaSO4

- Baker used arsenic oxide when he ran out

Question 8

What do Cassava roots and lima beans contain?

Answer 8

They contain naturally occurring cyanide compounds

- Must prepare food properly in order to remove cyanide

Question 9

What are Sassafra leaves

Answer 9

Used as a cleansing agent to make tea

• Sassafra leaves contain safrole which is a potential carcinogen
• Safrole was banned from root beer

Question 10

What is the RDA for salt?

Answer 10

2g/day

- Global average is 3.95g/day (nearly 2X recommended)

Question 11

What is the most widely added ingredient to food?

Answer 11

Sugar, and then salt

Question 12

Is salt more prevalent in natural or prepared food?

Answer 12

Prepared

Question 13

What happens when you reduce the size of the sodium crystal?

Answer 13

= increase the surface area = more sodium will come in contact with tongue and you will taste it more

Question 14

What is Monosodium glutamate (MSG)?

Answer 14

nasty ingredient in Lipton soup

• Flavour enhancing property of MSG came from seaweed
• Natural glutamine combines with sodium from the ocean to give MSG which made food taste better

Question 15

How many chemical additives do we consume per year?

Answer 15

~ 1 pound per year

- Roughly 2000 chemicals, THUS amount of each chemical per day is extremely small)

Question 16

What was the 5th taste that Kikunae Ikaeda discovered?

Answer 16

Umami (in addition to sour, sweet, salty, bitter)

• MSG brings out this umami taste
• It improves the taste of food to which it is actually added
• Specifically, high protein food

Question 17

How does MSG improve the taste of our food?

Answer 17

• It increases salivation

- Makes our taste buds more sensitive

Question 18

What is CRS (Chinese Restaurant Syndrome) / Kwok’s Disease?

Answer 18

• After eating MSG, they suffer chest pains and start sweating (symptoms of a prelude of heart attack)
• MSG was widely used in Chinese Oriental restaurants

Question 19

What is glutamic acid?

Answer 19

• The precursor of MSG
• Form MSG in the presence of salt
• Cheese, tomatoes, eggs, bread

Question 20

Explain how MSG is produced by bacteria in the lab

Answer 20

Bacteria are fed with molasses which convert it to glutamic acid which is treated with sodium hydroxide to make MSG

Question 21

Why is MSG not responsible for allergic reactions?

Answer 21

It does not involve the immune system, only ADVERSE reactions are associated with it

Question 22

What is kokumi?

Answer 22

• A new taste to describe fullness of food
• Cheese, foie gras, liver, garlic, onions, milk, scallops
  • The same company that makes MSG has developed a flavour additive that gives the kokumi taste
  • Pinot Noir from the US has a Kokumi taste

Question 23

What fat is used in stuffed butterball turkey?

Answer 23

Margarine, not butter

Question 24

What is more saturated than butter?

Answer 24

Palm and palm oil

Question 25

What salt used for?

Answer 25

Taste and preservatives

Question 26

How does salt kill micro-organisms?

Answer 26

By osmosis - Osmosis is the movement of a solvent through a semi-permeable membrane from a region of low [solute] to high [solute] - Water inside bacteria (low) will flow out into solution (high) and bacteria become dehydrated and die

Question 27

How do cucumbers become pickles?

Answer 27

Cucumbers are put in a brine solution (high salt)

Question 28

How can sugar be used as a preservative?

Answer 28

Through osmosis | - High sugar concentration causes bacteria to die

Question 29

What is in regular ketchup?

Answer 29

Fresh ripe tomatoes, sugar, etc… - NO preservatives and MSG - Ketchup is 30% sugar so obviously you don’t need a preservative

Question 30

How can smoke act as a preservative?

Answer 30

• Smoke can also act as a preservative because it dehydrates the fish and also toxic chemicals in smoke prevent growth of bacteria - Fish can be smoked, smoked meat in MTL - Become red when smoked = red herring

Question 31

How many cases and deaths per year are caused by food poisoning?

Answer 31

• In Canada, there are 6.8 million cases per year and 40 deaths • In the US, there are 48 million cases per year and 3000 deaths per year - Difference in numbers is because some people develop a stomach bug for 24 hours and don’t report it

Question 32

Why is the incidence of food poisoning is still higher than what it should be?

Answer 32

- Increased meat consumption - Increased lifespan (the older we get, worse immune systems) - Increased travelling (we bring in bugs from other countries) - Industrial farming (cattle grow up in crowded condition where its more likely they contract an infection) - Use of antibiotics in animal feed - In the US, 70% of antibiotics used are for animal feed

Question 33

What are antibiotics in animal feeds used for?

Answer 33

- Used to prevent the spread of diseases and animals will grow faster if given antibiotics - Important when animals are growing in crowded conditions (disease would spread very quickly)

Question 34

What is the concern around antibiotics in animal feeds?

Answer 34

• Concern is NOT that the antibiotics will remain in the chicken or animal - BUT instead that the bacteria that remain in the meet are resistant to the antibiotics - Consume chicken with resistant microbes --> become sick --> take antibiotics --> DO NOT WORK • There is a movement to ban the use of Antibiotics in cattle and chicken

Question 35

What is sodium phosphate?

Answer 35

an ingredient in turkey which is used to retain moisture in the turkey

Question 36

What is STP (sodium tripolyphosphate)?

Answer 36

In Kraft Dinner AND is used as a cleaning agent - In food, it retains moisture - In cleaning agent, it ties up calcium and makes water less hard

Question 37

What is the difference between flavour and artificial flavour?

Answer 37

- Flavour: ingredients added come from natural sources (milk or lactose component) - Artificial flavour: comes from synthetic sources

Question 38

What is artificial smoke flavour?

Answer 38

- Produced by passing smoke through a water solution where some of the chemicals are picked up (non-toxic) - Toxic flavours are not absorbed in the water