Article 54 of Chapter 9 of the Food Sanitation Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that food additives refer to chemically synthesized or natural substances added to foods for the purpose of improving food quality, color, aroma, taste, and the need for antiseptic and processing techniques. A nutrient enhancer refers to a natural or synthetic food additive that is added to foods to enhance nutrients and belongs to the natural nutrition range.
In the face of the challenges of people's consumption structure and level in the 21st century, research and development of new food processing industries, increase the variety and output of non-staple foods, and make full use of new food resources are the only way for the food industry. The enormous role of food additives in promoting the development of food processing to high quality, high yield and low consumption is unquestionable. Its small output accounts for less than 2% of the total output of the food industry, but it has a great effect. Food additives have always played a vital and indispensable role in improving the quality and grade of food, enhancing the senses, strengthening nutrition, improving food processing conditions, preventing spoilage and prolonging the shelf life of foods. The food additive industry does not have a modern food industry, food to improve the grade, increase the value of added value, better access to the family's three meals a day, must take the path of ingredients and food additives, this is inevitable. It can be said that food additives are an important pillar of the modern food industry.
Trace elements (minerals), which are composed of various chemical elements, are similar in composition and composition to the elements of the surface layer of the earth's crust. More than 90 elements present in the surface of the earth's crust can also be found in the human body. According to the content in the human body, it can be divided into two types: macro and trace elements: macro elements are also called constant elements, and their content accounts for more than one ten thousandth of the total weight of the human body. It includes 11 kinds of aerobic, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, chlorine and magnesium. The micro-element refers to one-tenth of the body weight in the human body, and it is also considered to be in human body and animal body. The content is less than one ten thousandth of the weight. It is also considered that the elements in the human body and the animal whose content is equal to or lower than iron are called trace elements. According to the needs of the body for trace elements, it can be divided into essential trace elements and non-essential trace elements. The so-called indispensability does not mean that the lack of life will be life-threatening, but that the lack of it will cause the body's biological function and structural abnormalities, leading to disease. At present, most recognized trace elements are: iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), Vanadium (V), tin (Sn), silicon (Si), selenium (Se), iodine (I), fluorine (F), 14 kinds. It may be necessary to have strontium (Sr), strontium (Rb), arsenic (As), boron (B), among which boron is an essential element of plants.
At present, the elements whose biological effects have not been found to be toxic are called non-essential trace elements, and the trace elements are classified into necessary and non-essential, toxic or harmless, and only have relative meaning. Because even the same trace elements are beneficial at low concentrations, they can be harmful at high concentrations (such as fluorine, selenium, etc.), so the biological effects of trace elements and their safe concentrations are discussed in more depth to prevent Blindly ingesting too much of the essential trace elements or removing some of the "toxic" elements that may be necessary from the diet.
Food additives are indispensable in today's people but have limitations in quantity and scope. It is closely related to trace elements. For example, the strengthening source of calcium is active calcium, calcium lactate, biological calcium carbonate, etc.; iron fortifiers are ferrous sulfate, ferrous lactate, ferrous gluconate, ferrous pyrophosphate, ferric citrate. Ammonium, etc.; zinc fortifiers are: zinc sulfate, zinc gluconate, zinc oxide, etc.; iodine enhancer is potassium iodide, seaweed iodine powder; copper fortifiers are: copper gluconate, copper sulfate; magnesium fortifiers are: magnesium sulfate, oxidation Magnesium, zinc oxide, etc.; iodine enhancer is potassium iodide, seaweed iodine powder; copper fortifiers are: copper gluconate, copper sulfate; magnesium strong agent: magnesium sulfate, magnesium oxide and the like. Selenium is an essential and toxic trace element, so the strengthening of selenium is strict. It is reported that the selenium level in the human body is calculated in Chinese for a milligram per milliliter of whole blood (range 6-52), human diet. Selenium containing 0.01 ppm can be used. According to the daily food consumption of most people, 0.1 ppm of selenium is converted into adult daily intake of 50-200 ug.
China is a country with low selenium nutrition. It must strengthen selenium in food, especially in Keshan ward and low selenium area to meet the shortage of supply. In China, the selenium-enhanced salt is 3-5mg/kg, the dairy products, cereals and products are 140-280ug/kg, and the drinking liquid is 50-200ug/kg. Because selenium is a toxic element, residents in areas with high selenium dietary levels or selenium content in foods that have reached 2.0 mg/kg or more do not need to use selenium to strengthen food, so as to avoid excessive poisoning. If the daily intake of each person reaches 5mg, there will be fingernail changes, hair loss and peripheral neuropathy. The fortifiers are sodium selenite, selenium-enriched yeast, and selenized carrageenan.
Manganese is an essential element of the human body. At present, there is no information in China on the lack of diet. Due to the biological importance of manganese in the body, the absorption rate is only about 40%. In order to prevent the phosphorus and iron in the current diet from affecting the biological utilization of manganese, the Chinese regulations allow the strengthening of manganese in food, and the amount of strengthening is dairy. Infant food 0.3-1.2mg/kg, beverage 0.16-0.3mg/kg. The manganese fortifier is manganese sulfate.
In short, trace elements can be used as a nutritional supplement in food additives to supplement certain foods. Although the amount in the human body is small, many human diseases, such as certain endemic diseases, mental disorders, certain inflammations, and even some malignant diseases. The biochemical effects of some trace elements such as tumors are well understood, and the pathogenesis is further clarified. The micronutrient population actively participates in many important functions of sustaining life and acts as a life-balanced one. Therefore, maintaining and maintaining the balance of trace elements in the body, reducing harmful damage to the human body, and making human health and longevity.