Bread gets moldy, meat rots, eggs turn green. All because we’re not the only ones who want to eat our food. Bacteria think it tastes good, too. They live in the food and multiply vigorously. And they release their waste into the external environment (like cheese). Which can be dangerous to humans.
Our ancestors were looking for a way to make food uninhabitable for bacteria. And they noticed that certain foods help keep it intact. For example, salt, honey, wine, vinegar, ethyl alcohol, rowanberries. And they called them “preservatives” – from the Latin conservatio – “preservation”. All of these preservatives are still in use today. And even in big industry.
Rowan preservative
For example, the additive E200 is sorbic acid (from the Latin sorbus – “rowan”). This acid is also found in natural rowan berries. And it is thanks to it that rowan berries have preservative properties.
But it is inefficient to use the whole berry. It is much more logical and economical to use only the acid, which prevents bacteria from developing in products. The rest of the substances contained in the rowan berries do not have such properties. And adding whole berries only makes sense if you want to get, for example, cheese with rowan flavor. And you have a lot of extra money to buy rowanberries, not just the right substance.
The additives E201-E203 are salts of this very “rowanic” acid. This is essentially the same sorbic acid, only slightly modified. Its molecule has a metal atom instead of a hydrogen atom – in this case Potassium, Sodium or Calcium. You would be surprised, but these substances in their pure form are metals, and that white powder, which does not look like a metal at all, which we think of as Calcium, is actually an oxygen molecule with calcium – Calcium oxide. The fact that we get metals in our bodies is not something to be afraid of. On the contrary. For example, when there is a lack of Potassium in our body, heart and muscle activity is impaired. Actually, these metals are used specifically because in this case they do not have a negative effect on the body.
Why use salts and not the acid itself? To change the physical properties of the substance slightly – in this case, to increase its solubility in water. “Rowan” acid doesn’t dissolve well in water, but its salts do.
Vinegar preservative
The same continues to be used and acetic acid (at home called just vinegar), as well as its salts, which are hiding under the terrible names of E260-E266.
So the fear of E supplements is exaggerated. Some of them are indeed harmful, but most are no more harmful than ordinary products that we use in everyday life. By the way, the “naturalness” of a product does not always guarantee its safety. For example, milk, as well as the additive E270 – lactic acid, can cause allergies in some people.
Each particular E-conservative has to be approached individually and to know how safe it is. And try to use really reliable information from reputable sources. For example, one of the most popular “truth about horrible E additives” articles says that E271 is a carcinogen. The only problem is that no such additive exists.
Numbers 271 through 279 are reserved for lactates – salts of lactic acid. Except that these numbers are only reserved, but they are not used and have never been used for any specific substances. And you can’t see the E271 label on any of the products today. Not to mention the strange fact that lactic acid itself (E270) is one of the safest preservatives. Which is also initially present in everyone’s body, as a product of the breakdown of glucose. And additives E272-E279 are not carcinogens for some reason, either. Although judging by their chemical and physical properties, they should be very similar.
In addition, there are other salts of lactic acid that are registered under other numbers. For example E325 – sodium lactate. The sodium salt of lactic acid. It is not next to lactic acid because it has other useful properties besides its preservative properties. It is usually used as an acidity regulator. And it is also safe and is not a carcinogen.
Если вам есть что дополнить в статье — напишите это в комментариях.
