How hazardous chemical present in artificial colours?
Answers
Food flavors and colorings are commonly used to enhance the natural properties of chemical substances found in foods. Food colorings may be used to make foods look more appealing, while food flavorings are added to enhance existing flavor or add new flavor to otherwise bland products.
Increasing attention is being paid to food additives used nowadays, with growing concerns about their safety and potential health risks. In particular, the effect on children’s development and behaviour is a topic of ongoing discussion.
What are Food Flavorings?
Food flavorings are added in order to enhance food flavors, e.g., sweeten or add new flavor to otherwise bland products. Food flavorings may also aid in preservation of the products or help to ensure that the product stays fresh for a prolonged period of time. Food flavorings may be natural or artificial.
Whole natural food flavorings are generally considered healthier and safer, but this may not always be the case. For example, natural almond flavoring is a source of poisonous hydrogen cyanide, while no such chemical is present in the artificial almond flavoring. Food flavorings do not add nutritional value to food products, and may sometimes be harmful in nature. Smoked foods especially are considered carcinogenic, but are appreciated due to their particular flavor.
What are Food Colorings?
Food coloring is any dye, pigment or other chemical substance added to an edible product in order to change or enhance its color. They may be added to foods and drinks, as well as medicines. Colorings serve to make foods look more appealing, as well as to match consumer expectations of what a product should taste like. Studies have shown that there is a link between the flavor and expected color of a food, and the color may affect sensations during consumption. Food colorings in use may be natural, artificial or identical to nature.
Set of of food colorants, food additives. Image Credit: science photo / Shutterstock
Set of of food colorants, food additives. Image Credit: science photo / Shutterstock
How is the Safety of Food Flavoring and Coloring Assessed?
All member states of the European Union follow strict regulations established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), belonging to the European Commission. The US and many other countries around the world also have strict laws governing this area. It is important to note that those regulations are in line with current scientific knowledge and evidence regarding possible toxicity of food additives. As such, they are under constant review, as new evidence emerges on the safety and possible health impact of food additives used.
Permission to use food flavorings and colorings is subject to the ability of the substances to pass a wide range of toxicity tests in each member state before approval. It should be noted that nine dyes in wide use today in the US have been shown to be dangerous in some degree, by causing carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, or hypersensitivity.
plz mark as brainliest