RESUMO
The E number system for food additives was introduced in the 1960s and the E was intended to reassure consumers that permitted additives were safe. In the 1980s full ingredient declarations had to be provided on food products for the first time and manufacturers were permitted to use either the name or the number of the additive on the ingredient list. This paper outlines some of the trends in the sourcing, use and labelling of additives since the introduction of full ingredient listing. Generally, sourcing has become more global with a large number of suppliers being based in China. From an initial use of E numbers in ingredient lists, manufacturers are increasingly using the names of additives. This trend is being extended to avoid the use of anything the consumer might consider an additive, particularly in connection with colours and preservatives. Specifically, the colours used in the Southampton study on the impact of food colours on hyperactivity in children have largely been replaced by colouring foodstuffs, and the preservative used in the study, sodium benzoate, has been replaced by potassium sorbate in the majority of soft drinks.
Assuntos
Aditivos Alimentares/análise , Alimentos em Conserva/análise , Indústria de Processamento de Alimentos , Comportamento do Consumidor , União Europeia , Aditivos Alimentares/efeitos adversos , Corantes de Alimentos/efeitos adversos , Corantes de Alimentos/análise , Rotulagem de Alimentos/normas , Conservantes de Alimentos/efeitos adversos , Conservantes de Alimentos/análise , Alimentos em Conserva/efeitos adversos , Alimentos em Conserva/normas , Indústria de Processamento de Alimentos/legislação & jurisprudência , Indústria de Processamento de Alimentos/tendências , Humanos , Benzoato de Sódio/efeitos adversos , Benzoato de Sódio/análise , Edulcorantes/efeitos adversos , Edulcorantes/análise , Reino UnidoRESUMO
Research on the effects of dietary polyphenols on human health has developed considerably in the past 10 y. It strongly supports a role for polyphenols in the prevention of degenerative diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases and cancers. The antioxidant properties of polyphenols have been widely studied, but it has become clear that the mechanisms of action of polyphenols go beyond the modulation of oxidative stress. This supplemental issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, published on the occasion of the 1st International Conference on Polyphenols and Health, offers an overview of the experimental, clinical, and epidemiologic evidence of the effects of polyphenols on health.