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Food Additives
These days it is just about impossible to keep up with food additives. There are just so many, and often times it is hard to just find basic information about an ingredient listed on a food label.
The following set of diagrams is intended to help visualize the types and numbers of possible food additives you might encounter. Not all food additives listed are permitted for use in all countries. There might be some additives that are permitted that I haven’t included.
Note: Some of the images are quite large. Click on a diagram to view the image at it’s true size.
Food Additive Categories
I’ve divided food additives into nine categories. These categories are based on the categories used in Europe to determine an additives E Number. Some additives may have more than just one use, so they may not always be in the category you might expect.
Food Colourings
Anti-oxidents and Acidity Regulators
Thickeners, Stabilizers and Emulsifiers
Flavour Enhancers
Sweeteners
Preservatives
Acidity Regulators and Anti-Caking Agents
Glazing Agents
Miscellaneous
Wow, that’s a really detailed categorization. This will be a super helpful tool to show people the possible chemicals they can potentially encounter when they buy packaged/processed goods. Another reason to eat whole foods and cook for yourself 🙂
Thanks for the comment Stephanie. It is a huge list, and really, no where near complete. I’ve been trying to find ways to visualize the data, and so far, these charts are the best I can come up with.