Columbus discovered the Americas while looking for new trade routes to access India for its spices.
Today, food additives have advanced well beyond their early rudimentary uses.

We still use salt and vinegar to preserve food, but we’re now able to use food additives to enrich and fortify our foods and drinks as well. Vitamins added to milk enhance its healthiness. Probiotics added to yogurts aid in digestion.

Natural colors added to whole grain cereals make them fun and appealing. Chefs involved in the modern cuisine movement use food additives to make surprising and inventive new foods that puzzle and delight eaters

– think “caviar” made out of fruit juice, or powdered bacon. These applications use more impressive-sounding additives than simple salt or sugar. Alginates enable the encapsulation of fruit juice to look like caviar, and maltodextrin is essential in the creation of bacon powder. Though these ingredients may sound intimidating, they’re naturally derived — alginates are extracted from brown seaweed, and maltodextrin is a product of starch. The source of their power is the same as that of baking soda — chemistry.

As additives and their uses have evolved, so too has the process by which we cultivate them and monitor their use. Early explorers have given way to food scientists and food safety organizations, like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA and other scientific experts help to regulate food additives to make sure they are used safely in the foods and drinks.

Food additives have come a long way since early civilizations discovered that salt helped preserve food. They’ve advanced the possibility and potential of foods, but by far their most important role remains to make our foods better, meaning both more accessible and more delicious.

For more information on Food and digestion please contact us at (508) 359-6463.Ā  For our free report ā€œProven Alternative Ways to Heal Common Chronic Digestive Problems: What Your Doctor Doesnā€™t Know Can Keep You From Healingā€ click here.

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