nutritional disorders
Food Additives and Contaminants
Additives
Chemicals are often combined with foods to facilitate their processing and preservation or to enhance their desirability. Only amounts of additives shown to be safe by laboratory tests are permitted in commercially prepared foods. Weighing the benefits of additives (eg, reduced waste, increased variety of available foods, protection against food-borne illness) against the risks is often complex. For example, nitrite, which is used in cured meats, inhibits the growth ofClostridium botulinumand improves flavor. However, nitrite converts to nitrosamines, which are carcinogens in animals. On the other hand, the amount of nitrite added to cured meat is small compared with the amount from naturally occurring food nitrates converted to nitrite by the salivary glands. Dietary vitamin C can reduce nitrite formation in the gastrointestinal tract. Rarely, some additives (eg, sulfites) cause Food Allergy . Most of these reactions are caused by ordinary foods. 