When we buy a packaged
food, how can we know about the preservatives added in it? In most
countries, law requires to label the food additives. Note the
ingredients and the preservative will be specified with a number rather
than the actual chemical name. The most widely used numbering system is
the International Numbering System (INS). How to find out what is the
exact chemical used as preservative? Note down the INS number and enter
into the link:
This site is the official
site of CODEX Alimentarius Commission which sets many food code and is
widely used by national regulators and consumers. Enter the INS number
in the tab labelled INS and click "search". The preservative detail like
the synonyms, functional classes, the food in which the preservative
can be used will be listed.
But, how to know what is
the allowed preservative quantity that is safe for health? The CODEX
Alimentarius Commission has many standards related to food safety. One
such standard is "General Standard for Food Additives" : CODEX STAN 192-1995 . This standard can be downloaded from the following link:
In this standard, the safe limit of any food additive per Kg of food is tabulated.
All said, we are not sure
if the packaged food contain preservatives within safe limit! Health
authorities in several countries check samples from different companies
in the laboratory for the amount of food additives present in the food.
Many countries have mechanisms for the common consumer to complaint
agaisnt possible misuse of preservatives above prescribed safe limits
under their national law.
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