Additives, healthy properties and expiration dates: a guide to understanding food labels

What ingredients does it have?

Is it really good for keeping cholesterol at bay?

Can I eat it after the date?

These and other doubts assail us when choosing which product to put in our kitchens, turning us into compulsive readers of its

.

Labels are precious information pills, but they are not always easy to understand.

In this article we review three of the most important elements of food labeling and the science behind it.

The famous 'E'

What do you think of when you read riboflavin (E 101) and carotene (E 160a)?

What about acetic acid (E 260), citric acid (E 330), tartaric acid (E 334), glutamic acid (E 620) and L-cysteine ​​(E 920)?

Perhaps you think of a dangerous product.

And if we told you that all these substances are ingredients of a popular dessert, would you be able to guess?

Would you think of, say, an industrial candy?

Mistake!

All of them are components of a round and round apple.

These 'E's that generate so much distrust in some consumers are found naturally in this healthy fruit, but they can also be added to other foods to improve some of their aspects.

When that's the case, we call them food additives.

An additive is a substance that is added to improve a product, for example, by adding color or sweetness, or prolonging its shelf life.

Its use is not essential, but additives allow us to obtain the full range of flavors, textures, consistencies, colors and, perhaps more importantly, greater durability than we enjoy today.

In the European Union, all additives follow a unified code consisting of an E followed by three digits.

Although some have names as peculiar as propylene glycol alginate (E 405), there are others that are more recognizable for those who handle typical Spanish cuisine, such as citric acid (E 330), which is found in lemon juice.

As a curiosity, you can find out the main task of an additive by reading the first of the triplet numbers.

Among the most common we find that the 100 are dyes;

the 200, preservatives;

the 300, antioxidants and some 900 are sweeteners.

Apples also have additives.getty

As these are added ingredients, not just any substance can be used as an additive: before they can be used, they must pass under the microscope of science to ensure that their intake is safe.

To do this, scientists and experts from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the organization in which we work, analyze the effects that these substances could have on consumers after ingestion.

This analysis makes it possible to estimate the amount of a substance that a person can consume on a daily basis throughout his life without appreciable risk.

This value is known as the acceptable daily intake (ADI).

EFSA also calculates the general exposure of European consumers to the additive, considering how much is added to food products and how much product we consume per day,

Community regulation does not allow exceeding these limits set by science.

And, in addition, it requires transparency in its use, since additives must always be included on the label of the products that contain them, indicating their name or corresponding E number and the reason for their use (stabilizer, colorant, etc.) .

So we know exactly what we are eating.

declared healthy

“The fiber in wheat bran contributes to increasing the volume of feces” or “vegetable sterols lower blood cholesterol” are phrases used to convince us of the benefits of foods and beverages.

When they are on the label or mentioned in advertising, they are known as health claims (DPS) and cannot be used without rhyme or reason.

A SPD is any statement that states, suggests, or implies that there is any relationship between a food category, a food, or one of its constituents, and health.

The DPS cannot refer to the prevention or cure of diseases, so we should not see phrases such as "the consumption of fish prevents heart attacks" or "phosphorus cures Alzheimer's".

SPDs that do not indicate a specific benefit and are therefore not scientifically evaluable, such as “good for gut health”, are also not allowed, unless they are accompanied by one or more specific SPDs of proven scientific validity;

for example “live cultures in yogurt or fermented milk improve the digestion of lactose in the product in people with problems digesting lactose”.

Scientific credibility is obtained thanks to a positive evaluation by EFSA, which analyzes each claim individually.

The DPS of authorized use throughout the European Union for any product that complies with its conditions of use can be consulted in the registry of the European Commission.

It is important to read the declaration well, since it not only indicates the health benefits;

It must also clearly explain the amount of food that we must consume per day to obtain said benefits or the population group to which the declaration is addressed (general population, children, the elderly, women in menopause, etc.).

rushing dates

When we select a product from a store shelf, one of the first reactions is to look for the numbers that mark the relentless passage of time.

Yes, also for that tempting bar of chocolate.

Is it the expiration date?

Not always!

Foods can have either a consumption or expiration date itself, or a preferential consumption date, depending on their characteristics.

The expiration date indicates how long the food is safe to consume.

Once this date has passed, its consumption could cause health problems.

It is vital to emphasize this last detail because, although the product is apparently in good condition, it could cause food poisoning.

Expiration is shown on fresh and highly perishable foods such as fish, meat, vegetables and dairy products.

The most common “preferably best before”, technically called best before date, tells us about the quality of the food.

As long as storage instructions have been followed, such as not breaking the cold chain or perhaps “store in a cool, dry place away from odours”, the food will be safe even after the date listed.

Of course, it is not guaranteed that the food retains its original organoleptic properties.

But the important thing is that it will not cause health problems and therefore you can still put it in your mouth.

So there is no reason to throw it away!

However, the figures tell us that we do quite the opposite: up to 10% of the 88 million tons of food waste that we generate in the European Union are related to the erroneous marking of dates or their misinterpretation, according to data from the European Comission.

To reduce this waste, the EFSA makes a guide available to producers to decide whether their products must indicate the date of consumption or the best before date, guiding them through various parameters such as the type of product or current legislation.

Silvia Valtueña Martínez

Ana M.ª Rincón

NUTRITION WITH SCIENCE

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