Food additives
Definitions
Food additive
A food additive is any substance the use of which results, or may reasonably be expected to result, in it or its by-products becoming a part of or affecting the characteristics of a food [B.01.001(1), FDR].
Food additive categories
There are fifteen lists of permitted food additives, which are housed on the Health Canada website, and organized by major functional categories:
- Anti-caking agents
- Bleaching, maturing and dough conditioning agents
- Colouring agents
- Emulsifying, gelling, stabilizing or thickening agents
- Food enzymes
- Firming agents
- Glazing and polishing agents
- Food additives with other generally accepted uses
- Sweeteners
- pH adjusting agents, acid reacting materials or water correcting agents
- Preservatives (Classes I-IV)
- Part 1 - Class 1 - curing preservatives;
- Part 2 - Class 2 - antibacterial;
- Part 3 - Class 3 - antifungal and antimycotic;
- Part 4 - Class 4 - antioxidants
- Sequestering agents
- Starch modifying agents
- Yeast foods
- Carrier or extraction solvents
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