Why do your breads contain additives?

Many additives are quite familiar substances used in cooking – the kind that are also used at home. Food authorities have given this group the name additives because they are used in cooking and baking as an aid in addition to the actual ingredients.

Many people think that additives are only found in food. In reality, many of them are compounds that occur naturally – quite naturally. If the ingredients contained in lingonberries were listed in the same way as, for example, the ingredients of bread, the list of ingredients would look like this:
Water, sugar, fibre, vitamins, minerals, acids (E 200, E 210), gelling agents (E 440), colours (E 160a, E 163) and flavourings (Source: Food additives, Evira 2010).

Additives are used in food preparation at home, in institutional kitchens and in the food industry. Additives are used to influence the safety, texture, appearance, taste and shelf life of food. The use of additives is regulated by food legislation, and their use must always be indicated on the labelling. See more about additives: evira.fi