Antioxidants

2. Continuing with our essential food additives discussion, next class which comes is of antioxidants, a class, which is given much importance than any other both in general health discussions as well as in specific health discussions. We all read a lot about antioxidants these days. You can read about them in almost every beauty or health magazine as they destroy harmful oxidants or free radicals to be more specific, which are in turn generated during various chemical reactions happening in our body. These free radicals can harm us in many ways. Without going into much detail now. Let us first discuss about them as food additives.

In food usually these additives are used as antioxidants:

a) Vitamin C and ascorbates: They are used in various food products, like, juices jams and canned fruits. They are also used in acidic foods, and fatty foods that become rancid. Ascorbates prevent fruit juices from turning brown and fatty foods from becoming rancid. They also improve baking quality in wheat.

b) BHA or BHT: They are used in fatty food to prevent them from getting rancid, such as baked products, cereals, potato chips, and fats and oil. They also extend shelf life and protect food from fungi and bacteria, an action similar to preservatives that we discussed earleir.

c) Tocopherols (Vitamin E) : They are used in oils and shortenings. They also prevent rancidity in fats and other damage to food due to exposure to oxygen.