Hundreds of molecules are used as processing aids in food production. The absence of a requirement to report their use on the label does not excuse appropriate assessments of their safety. The in-depth study by the French consumer association Que Choisir. (1)
Processing aids, the hidden additives
Processing aids are additives, enzymes and other substances used during production processes and for process purposes only. Their possible residue in the finished product-‘unintentional but technically unavoidable‘-must not play any function on it (EC Reg. 1333/08, so-called additives regulation, Art. 3.2.b).
Food labels may omit their indication, subject, however, to the duty to indicate possible residues of allergenic substances (e.g., eggs in wine clarified with albumin. See EU reg. 1169/11, Articles 9, 20). (2) These include solvents (hexane), bleaching agents, dyes, deodorants, anti-foaming agents, anti-caking agents, etc.
The rules
The Additives Regulation defines processing aids, specifying that their residues must not pose a health risk to consumers, but without providing a positive list of permitted substances. (2)
The French government, on the other hand, with the decree no. 2011-509, puts them into 17 categories (16 distinct by functionality and one residual). (3) And Anses oversees their safety.
Antifoam in pineapple juice
The line between technological aids and additives is sometimes very blurred, and manufacturers cross it, even fraudulently, warns Que Choisir. As in the case of defoamers used in pineapple juice from concentrate.
‘Silicon is often added to the juice in the concentrate plant to prevent foaming, which would interrupt the concentration process,’ explains Hubert Bazin, quality consultant and former head of research and development at Oasis, a popular fruit drink brand.
A case under consideration by the anti-fraud directorate
Bottlers consider silicon to be a processing aid and therefore do not indicate it on the label. However, the molecule remains and ends up in the consumer’s glass, where it continues to act as an antifoam.
The French Directorate General for Competition, Consumers and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) said that ‘reflections […] are underway to establish criteria to distinguish the status of additive from that of technological adjuvant for defoamers.’
The ‘decontaminants’
The subtle distinction between technological aids and additives is also apparent with regard to preservatives. Some molecules, called ‘decontamination agents,’ come into contact with food only once .
‘These include formaldehyde, a probable carcinogen, which none of us would imagine ingesting while biting into a sugar cube.’
Sugar, many processing aids
Sugar, in particular, is among the most heavily processed foods, with more than 50 processing aids authorized in its transalpine homeland (where, among other things, seeds treated with neonicotinoid pesticides are still used, as noted, in derogation of EU bans).
‘If people knew all the chemistry required to turn a sugar beet into small, perfectly white grains…,’ sighs Raphaël Haumont, a chemist at the University of Paris-Saclay and author of, among others, the book Les couleurs de la kitchen (published by Dunod).
Sunflower oil, better virgin and organic
Vegetable oils are not risk-free. Without labels accounting for this, some chemical compounds may remain in the refined oil.
The production of non-virgin and non-organic sunflower oils ‘may involve refining with phosphoric acid, or decolorization with silica,’ warns Sébastien Loctin, managing director of Biofuture, a company that markets virgin and organic oils that are not chemically treated.
Organic less at risk
As with sunflower oil, any food obtained organically poses less risk. In fact, the EU organic regime allows only about 50 food additives, compared with more than 300 allowed in conventional products, under strict conditions of use.
Organic feeds in turn-in addition to encountering an outright ban on GMO derivation-are subject to very strict rules on permissible additives and technological aids.
The hidden additives
Like processing aids , additives can also be invisible to the consumer. This is the case with the wax that covers some fruits such as apples in order to prolong their shelf life. No information is provided to the consumer, as fresh fruits and vegetables are exempt from labeling requirements.
Undeclared additives are also common in animal products. ‘Pink dyes are particularly found in a large number of salmon, shrimp and trout, and often yellow dyes [vengono aggiunti] in butter and eggs as well,’ says Raphaël Haumont.
These additives do not have to be labeled, simply because they are introduced into the product indirectly through livestock feed. As with titanium dioxide, in fact banned in animal feed before it is in food.
The hidden sulfur dioxide
Further anomalous circumstance occurs in products composed of multiple ingredients because manufacturers are not obliged to mention the molecules integrated into each of them, as long as they no longer perform their function in the finished product.
In cereal bars, granola or fruit cakes, for example, sometimes the ingredient list does not report the presence of sulfur dioxide (E220) or sodium bisulfite (E222), sulfites often used as preservatives in dried fruits. However, the presence of ‘sulfites’ as allergens is reported.
According to Béatrice de Reynal, nutritionist and CEO of consulting agency NutriMarketing, manufacturers consider them ‘transfer additives,’ even though they continue to play their role in the finished product. Interviewed by Que Choisir, however, industry companies assure that no sulfite is intentionally added by their dried fruit suppliers. And the warning about the presence of sulfites is merely a precaution against the risk of contamination.
Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) Elsa Abdoun. Additifs. La recette pour les cacher, Que Choisir, 20.1.22 https://www.quechoisir.org/enquete-additifs-la-recette-pour-les-cacher-n98056/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=nlh&utm_campaign=nlh20220126&at_medium=email&at_emailtype=retention&at_campaign=nlh20220126
(2) Dario Dongo. Label adjuvants or additives? Attorney Dario Dongo replies. FARE(Food and Agriculture Requirements), 2.3.19. https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/archivio-notizie/domande-e-risposte/coadiuvanti-o-additivi-in-etichetta-risponde-l-avvocato-dario-dongo
(3) Ministère de l’Économie des Finances et de la Relance. Réglementation relative aux aux auxiliaires technologiques. https://www.economie.gouv.fr/dgccrf/Securite/produits-alimentaires/reglementation-relative-aux-auxiliaires-technologiques
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
