Food Marketing & Technology - India July 2019 | Page 26

Ingredient
undergone a JECFA safety assessment,
and are found not to present an
appreciable health risk to consumers,
can be used.
WHO, together with FAO, groups
food additives into 3 broad categories
based on their function like flavouring
agents, enzymes and additives such
as colouring agents, preservatives
(antimicrobials,
antioxidants),
sweeteners (appetizers), stabilizers
(texturising agent), flavouring agents
(flavour enhancers), anti-caking agents
(dehumidifiers), food thickeners, gums
or hydrocolloids, etc. The need for their
use arises due to the fact that numerous
benefits are associated with the use of
food additives. With this objective, a
large amount of these substances, of
various chemical structures, have been
used for many years.
ROLE OF GUMS AND
HYDROCOLLOIDS IN
BAKERY
BY PALLAVI JAISWAL*
A
dditives
are
extensively
used substances in bakery
industries. Substances that
are added to maintain or improve
the safety, freshness, taste, texture,
or appearance of food and food
products are known as food additives.
Additives are added to ensure
processed food remains safe and in
good condition throughout its journey
from production to consumers.
Food additives can be derived from
plants, animals, or minerals, or they
can be synthetic. The use of food
additives is only justified when their
use has a technological need and
are added intentionally to perform
certain
technological
purposes
which consumers often take for
granted. There are several thousand
food additives used, all of which
are designed to do a specific job in
making food safer or more appealing.
WHO, in cooperation with the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO), is responsible
for assessing the risks to human health
from food additives. Risk assessments
of food additives are conducted by
an independent, international expert
scientific group – the Joint FAO/WHO
Expert Committee on Food Additives
(JECFA). Only food additives that have
Hydrocolloids belong to the
group of high molecular
weight hydrophilic biopolymers
and are a functionally used
ingredient of food additives
in the sector of food and
bakery technology
Food Marketing & Technology
26
July 2019
One of the most extensively used
additives in the food industry are
Hydrocolloids (gums). Hydrocolloids
are often called gums that are
added to foodstuffs to control their
properties such as thickening or
gelling. Hydrocolloids belong to
the group of high molecular weight
hydrophilic biopolymers and are
a functionally used ingredient of
food additives in the sector of food
and bakery technology. Basically,
these compounds help to improve
food texture and moisture retention
properties and finally, to enhance the
overall quality of the products during
storage. Hydrocolloids are hydrophilic
biopolymers of vegetable, animal,