Food Additives

Both kids and grownups like foods with bright colors and most processed foods would be pretty dull with them. Learn more about artificial colorings and find out if they're safe.

Two additives that keep fats and oils fresh in processed foods. Learn how BHA and BHT protect freshness and where you'll find them.

This is a food additive that works as a preservative in bread and baked goods. Learn more about calcium propionate.

Citric acid enhances flavor and preserves foods. It's most common in processed fruits, juices and soft drinks. Learn more about citric acid.

Many processed foods are enriched or fortified because they have fiber, vitamins, or minerals added to them when they're manufactured. Learn the difference between enrichment and fortification.

Nutritional ingredients are a special class of food additives that have health benefits. They include supplemental vitamins, minerals, probiotics and antioxidants. Learn more about these ingredients.

This flavor enhancer improves the taste of savory foods, but it's also high in sodium. Sodium glutamate ingestion may lead to "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" and many people claim to be sensitive to sodium glutamate. Learn more.

Companies often put the word "natural" on their labels because they believe more people will buy them. Are natural ingredients always better than artificial ingredients? Learn more.

Sodium benzoate is a preservative added to acidic foods such as fruit products to help keep them fresh and improve the flavor. Learn more about sodium benzoate.

Sulfites are added to foods to help keep them fresh longer. They also occur naturally in some cases. Learn more about sulfites, safety, and which foods have the highest levels.

Zero-calorie sweeteners are sometimes called non-nutritive or artificial sweeteners. They're Food additives that are extremely sweet, so you only need a tiny amount, so they don't add any calories to your diet.