Advisory

Additives

Additives are substances added to food to improve their properties, such as taste, aroma, color, texture, or shelf life. They can be of natural or synthetic origin and are regulated by the relevant food and health authorities.

Hello,

I would like to ask for your advice regarding the selection of dietary supplements (DS) with respect to additives. How can one determine which additives are necessary in DS and which might be unnecessary? I found a website called "FÉR potravina" which examines the harmfulness of individual E-number additives; however, it does not explicitly state whether a particular E-number is essential in DS. For instance, stearic acid has a harmfulness score of one, which sounds promising, but how can I determine if the product could do without it? DS will always be somewhat processed, so a person will confront this issue with every product and brand.

Thank you.

START OF TEXT:
You will not fully realize this. The regulations defined by food technology allow for highly variable combinations of additives. In practice, it is up to the discretion of food technologists to decide what they use in food production and for what purpose. The fact is that some additives are indispensable; for example, in liquid products, controversial sorbates and benzoates are used due to the need to suppress microbial activity in products that require a longer shelf life (they cannot be replaced by others with the same effectiveness). Tablet forms, on the other hand, have completely different requirements due to the need to ensure cohesion, stability, and possibly disintegration.
For the consumer, this is a demanding discipline, requiring patience in studying and finding the optimal solution.

Questions answered by

Mgr. Martin Jelinek
Lecturer and author of the educational system

Nutrition educator, lecturer, and author of the educational system and the ZOF learning application.

Mgr. Martin Jelínek has been systematically involved in nutrition education since 1999. He is the founder of ATAC, the educational company behind NutriCourses, and the author of an educational system focused on nutrition, healthy lifestyle, and the practical application of nutrition knowledge.

He graduated from the Faculty of Science at Masaryk University in Brno. Throughout his professional career, he has combined nutrition, education, and the practical application of acquired knowledge. His educational system also includes the ZOF (Zone of Optimal Functioning) learning application, where students turn theory into practical work with meal plans.

In 2007, he launched the first intake of a six-month course focused on the education of nutrition advisors. Over time, this course became the foundation for the further development of the educational system and a range of specialised courses.

Martin Jelínek's articles