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We at ShaSha Co. do not use any additives,preservatives,food colouring
or dairy products.
Food additives are defined as "chemical substances deliberately added to foods, directly or indirectly in known and regulated quantities, for purposes of assisting in the processing of foods; preservation of foods; or in improving the flavour, texture, or appearance of foods." Additives may be reactive or inactive, nutritive or nonnutritive, but they should be neither toxic nor hazardous.
The Health Canada is a governmental organization that determines whether a new compound is safe to be used as a food additive. It is up to the company that wants to use it however If the additive, given in any amount, is shown to have a Carcinogenic effects it will be refused. Certain additives are classified as GRAS (generally recognized as safe) when they have been used for long periods of time without apparent harm (e.g. salt, baking soda). There are currently over 3000 intentional additives allowed.
Food Additives and the Baking Industry
The separation of the milling and baking industries has led to the adulteration of flour with various chemicals. Up to the 20th century it was common to store flour for months to allow oxygen to condition it. Storage costs, spoilage, and losses due to insects created the need for chemical additives. Chemical oxidizing agents or bleaches were used for two reasons: 1) they produced the same conditioning effects of oxygen in only 24-48 hours; 2) they bleached the flour to a whiter colour. Although these properties resulted in higher profits, they lowered nutritional value.
Food additives that may be used as bleaching, maturing and dough conditioning agents.
| A few samples of such additives | |
| References
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Acetone Peroxide is acetone (colourless liquid used in nail polish removers and as a solvent for oils and waxes) with an oxygen compound attached. It is a maturing agent for bleaching flour and dough. It has a sharp acrid odor and can be damaging to the skin and eyes.
Ammonium Persulphate are odorless crystals or white powder used as a bleacher and as a modifier for food starch. PAFA (Priority-based Assessment of Food Additives) has not yet done a toxicology literature search on this additive.
Ascorbic Acid, also known as vitamin C, can be used as a preservative and antioxidant in frozen fruit, dry milk, beer, apple juices, soft drinks, milk, candy, meat products, jellies, etc. A white or slightly yellow powder can affect the excretion of medications, such as barbiturates, and make them more toxic. Reasonably stable when it remains dry in air, but deteriorates rapidly when exposed to air while in solution.
Azodicarbonamideis a yellow to orange red crystalline powder used as a bleaching and maturing agent for flour. The FDA wants further study of this chemical for both short-term and long-term effects.
Benzoyl Peroxideis a bleaching agent for flours, blue cheese, and milk. It is used as a drying agent in cosmetics and for hardening fiberglass resins. It is toxic by inhalation and it irritates skin.
Calcium Iodateis white, nearly odorless powder used as a dough conditioner and oxidizing agent in bead, rolls, and buns. It is a nutritional source of iodine in table salt and can be used in disinfectants and as a deodorant. Low toxicity, but may cause allergic reactions. The FDA has not yet done a search of the toxicology literature concerning this additive.
Calcium Peroxide, white or yellowish, odorless, tasteless powder is used in bakery products as a dough conditioner that can be irritating to the skin. Toxicology literature search has not been done concerning this additive, according to the FDA.
Calcium stearoyl-2-Lactylateis white powder used as a dough conditioner in yeast-leavened bakery products. Also used as a whipping agent in dried, liquid, and frozen egg whites. On the FDA list of additives requiring further safety information since 1980.
Chlorine Gasis flour-bleaching and aging and oxidizing agent. Also used in water purification. Found in the earth’s crust, it is a greenish yellow gas with a suffocating odor. A powerful irritant, dangerous to inhale, and lethal. Thirty-ppm will cause coughing. The chlorine used in drinking water often contains carcinogenic carbon tetrachloride, a contaminant formed during production. Chlorination has also been found to sometimes form undesirable "ring" compounds in water, such as toluene, xylene, and the suspected carcinogen styrene-they have been observed in both drinking water and wastewater plants. The FDA data bank, PAFA, was, as of this writing, doing a toxicology literature search on this gas.
Chlorine Dioxide, a yellow or reddish yellow gas with an unpleasant odor, highly irritating, and corrosive to the skin and mucous membranes, is used to bleach flours. It reacts violently to organic materials, and it can kill.
Potassium PersulphateWhite crystals used as a flour-maturing agent and sprayed on cirrus as a coating. It is a strong irritant.
Sodium stearyl-2-Lactylate is used as an emulsifier (allows two insoluble compounds such as oil and water to be mixed together), plasticizer, or surface-active agent in bakery mixes, baked products, cake icings, fillings, dehydrated fruits and vegetables and juices, liquid shortenings, pudding mixes, etc.
Sodium stearyl fumarate is fine white powder used as a dough conditioner in bakery products, starch-thickened flour, and dehydrated potatoes.
Guthrie, H.A. & Picciano, M.F. Human Nutrition. Mosby, St. Louis, 1995.
Chp.19 Food Safety, P. 639-657.Viera, R. Elementary Food Science. Chapman and Hall, New York, 1996. Chp.13 Food Additives, P.183-205.
