Do you know enough about food additives?

Did you know that more than 3,000 additives can be used in food processing to improve the safety, appearance, flavour and shelf life? In order to know what you and your family are consuming, check labels before you buy. Here are some things to know when it comes to food additives:

• Responses to food additives vary between individuals: one person may tolerate a substance that makes someone else quite ill.

• Check food labels carefully if you're vegetarian or vegan. Many of the common food additives, such as emulsifiers, gelatin, glycerol, maltodextrins and natural flavours are derived from animals.

• Avoid buying products with a long list of additives. These foods are likely to be highly processed and may have low nutritional value.

• Be aware that fast foods and supermarket-bought convenience foods often contain synthetic flavours that mimic natural ones. To avoid these, base your diet on fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and lean meats.

• If you're trying to avoid caffeine in soft drinks, labelling laws now make it easier to do so. If guarana, a plant from South America that has high levels of natural caffeine, has been added, it too must be labelled as containing caffeine.

• Watch out for monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour enhancer often included in salad dressings, soups and potato chips. Its use allows the manufacturer to reduce the amount of other ingredients in their products. For example, you may get less chicken in chicken soup if MSG is present.

• If you want to eliminate any risk of the potential effects of chemicals on your health, try to buy certified organic produce only.

Some food additives come from natural sources and act as disease-preventing phyto-nutrients. The additives below do this. They are derived from carotenoids – the substances that give plants their colour – and are used to colour food.

• Anthocyanins 163: grape skins or blackcurrants
• Beta-carotene 160a: plant pigment
• Lutein 161b: marigolds and green leaves
• Lycopene 160d: various plant sources
• Paprika oleoresin 160c: paprika (Capsicumannuum)
• Rubixanthin 161d: rose hips
• Violoxanthin 161e: yellow pansies

Tip: Take your glasses with you when you go shopping – information about food additives and additive numbers on labels is usually in small print.