Food Ingredients

Ingredients in Foods: Benefits, Types, and Effects

Why are food ingredients necessary? Additional food ingredients are defined as supplementary substances that are added during food production. Their use can bring a variety of benefits, including:

1. Extension of shelf life: The use of preservatives extends the shelf life of food by preventing the growth of microorganisms, thus helping to keep food fresh for longer.

2. Improvement of aesthetics: Colorants are used to enhance and standardize the appearance of food, making them more appealing to consumers. Their addition can facilitate the differentiation of various food products, such as through the color coding of different flavors or varieties.

3. Improvement of texture and consistency: Emulsifiers and stabilizers are typical food ingredients used to improve and stabilize the texture and consistency of food.

4. Enhancement of taste: Flavor enhancers can be used to improve the taste of food, making them more appealing to consumers.

Food Ingredients: Uses, Examples, and Types

There is a wide range of ingredients designed for different applications:

Amino acids: Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, which are essential for growth and tissue repair in the body. In sports nutrition, amino acids like glycine are often used as dietary supplements to support the body in building muscle and recovering from exercise.

Antioxidants: Antioxidants are important for the human body as they protect our cells. Antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, also known as Vitamin C, are mainly used as food ingredients to improve shelf life. In the body, Vitamin C is involved in many metabolic processes and is needed, among other things, to build connective tissue, bones, and teeth.

Vitamin C also captures harmful compounds such as free radicals and reactive oxygen species and protects cells and molecules from damage through its antioxidant properties. During digestion, it improves the utilization of iron from plant foods and inhibits the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines.

Flavors: Flavors are added to food production to compensate for flavor losses during production, storage, and preparation or to give a food a characteristic taste. A particularly popular and well-known flavoring substance is vanillin.

Energy ingredients: The ingredients of energy drinks support the body's energy metabolism, increase physical performance, and improve nerve function. Energy drinks can thus cause a rapid energy supply and associated positive effects such as increased alertness and improved concentration. Ingredients such as taurine, which are used especially in combination with caffeine, are attributed vitalizing effects.

Humectants: Humectants are hygroscopic food ingredients that bind the moisture contained in the food while absorbing additional moisture from the air. This prevents food from drying out. In the confectionery industry, humectants are used to prevent sugar crystallization.

Flavor enhancers: These food ingredients are known to enhance the sensory properties of foods. They can intensify taste as well as give food a spicy aroma.

Preservatives: Preservatives are used to prevent food from spoiling. Preservatives such as potassium sorbate are processed by metabolism like other fatty acids.

Proteins/Starches: Proteins consist of several grouped amino acids that the human body must consume through food to maintain cells and tissues.

Acidulants/acid regulators: Acidulants and acid regulators are very popular in food technology as they increase the acidity in foods, thus providing a sour taste. The additive citric acid is particularly common since it can be fully processed by the body and even occurs in every human cell in small amounts. The additive is found in lemons but also in many other fruits such as apples, pears, sour cherries, raspberries, blackberries, or mushrooms.

Stabilizers/thickeners: In the food industry, stabilizers/thickeners such as xanthan gum are used in production to maintain the consistency or composition of food. Additionally, these food ingredients can improve the texture, color, and flavor of food.

Sweeteners: Sweeteners are alternatives to sugar that can amplify the sweet taste of food by 30 to 3,000 times compared to sucrose. A major advantage of these ingredients is that they are nearly or completely calorie-free and do not have a cariogenic effect on teeth. Popular sweeteners include Acesulfame K, Erythritol, Maltitol, or Xylitol.

Food Additive Distributor: Jebsen & Jessen Life Science is the Specialist for Ingredients

We have made it our mission to deliver safe and effective solutions for the distribution and trade of food that meet the demands of consumers and the industry. In compliance with the applicable regulations of the European Union, we routinely subject our products to quality testing in German laboratories. Contact us today to learn more about our food ingredients, products, and services.