A food additive is a substance added to improve the flavourA natural or artificial compound used to give food a particular taste or smell., quality, texture, appearance, or shelf-life of a food recipe or ingredient. Food additives are not a new invention. but modern food science has vastly increased the variety and use of additives. For more detailed information please read our article on What is (and isn't) a Food Additive? or History of Food Additives..

There are more than 500 food additives identified in the E-numbering system. Not all of these are commonly used, or currently approved for use in all countries.

Food additives serve a specific purpose in improving the flavourA natural or artificial compound used to give food a particular taste or smell., quality, or consistency of food and certainly are not all harmful or artificial. Many additives come from natural sources, such as plants and animals. Like common food ingredients, some individuals may have adverse reactions or specific dietary requirements that preclude specific additives or categories of ingredients. The labelling and disclosure of food additives is an important part of food packaging so consumers can make an informed choice.

Yes, many food additives are derived from natural sources. However, natural additives may not be what you expect.

Yes, food additives can come from animal, plant, or synthetic origin. Common examples of animal-derived additives include Cochineal (E120), Bone Phosphate (E542), and Shellac (E904).

E-numbers are standard 3 or 4 digit codes used for labelling of food additives. The E-numbering scheme originated in the European Union with the "E" prefix designating additives that had been approved in "E"urope. Identical E-numbers are used on food packaging from other regions such as North America and Oceania, but often do not include the "E" prefix.

E-numbers are assigned by the Codex AlimentariusCommission created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develop food standards, guidelines, and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. Committee, and generally correspond to the International Numbering System (INSThe International Numbering System for food additives was developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission to provide an internationally agreed numerical system for identifying food additives in ingredient lists. The system is based on the numbering scheme used by the European Union (E code) and will largely use the same numbers, but without the E prefix.) number which identifies food compounds. Unlike E-numbers, INS numbers are not unique and may be assigned to a group of similar compounds.

The E-number classifications broadly group related additives by number range. For example, the range of 100-199 is used for Colours while 600-699 is used for Flavour Enhancers. There are currently nine top level groupings, each of which has up to nine sub groupings.

Many food additives have multiple uses .. for example, Agar can be used as a thickenerA substance used to increase the viscosity of a mixture while minimising changes to any other properties., stabiliserGives food a firmer texture by preventing the breakdown of emulsions in food., or gelling agentUsed to stabilise, thicken and modify the texture of the food through gel formation.. According to the E-numbering system, a food additive will be classified in a single category which is the predominant use for that substance. In addition to the official Classification for each additive, the Foodditive database lists one or more Categories of common uses.

Lake colours (also known as "secondary colours") are commonly used for the outsides of tablets, candies, snack food, and other solid products which lack sufficient moisture to dissolve a food dye. A "Lake" is a solid, non-water soluble form of a food colouring produced by mixing a standard food dye with Aluminium Hydroxide. Aluminium Hydroxide is a food ingredient considered safe, and is also commonly sold as an antacid. The "Lake" designation can appear after the main colour name (for example, "FD&CThe US Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act (1938), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Red 2 Lake") or before (eg. "Lake Allura Red").