Additives

Submitted to a gluten-free diet, I have been deprived of some products without knowing why, or knowing how these products were prepared. today, I can eat jam, cakes, cheese, drinks and much more. I learned to decipher food composition because by getting information on food additives, I found out that additives are chemical products that one adds to basic foods to put them on the market. These additives are natural or more often synthetic, i.e. prepared in the lab. They follow a well established regulation. They have an identification number preceded by E (E for Europe). We distinguish:

Colourings: (from E100 to E199). Intended to modify or to emphasize food colour. Among these colourings, there is the Lactoflavine (E101) extracted from milk, wheat, liver or eggs which is harmful for the Diet and which must be avoided. Apart from Lactoflavine, other colourings are allowed.

Preservatives: (from E200 to E299). Intended to preserve food, therefore avoid the alteration process. They are usually acids, they present no danger to the Diet.

Anti-oxygens: (from E300 to E399). Used to avoid food oxidation when there is some contact with air. They are also acids therefore, they present no danger to the Diet.

Texture agents: (from E400 to E499). Intended to stabilize a preparation and give it consistency. We distinguish :

Emulsioners: used to facilitate the taking and the stabilization of emulsions (mixtures). They are generally Lecithin extracted from almonds or Soya seeds. they present no danger to the Diet.
Gel-makers: Used to give consistency to a preparation like flans, desert, jams, etc. The main gel-makers are pectin extracted from fruits such as quince or lemon or alginic acid and its derivings but, we find also the starch and it is not sometimes mentioned what kind of starch: wheat or corn. A particular attention has to be granted to Malt. It is a germinated barley, dried, roasted and reduced to flour. Its extract is used in industrial sweets making and especially chocolate. I don’t know whether this extract contains or not gluten, but as barley is a forbidden cereal in a gluten-free diet, I avoid foods that contain it. It is therefore necessary to be careful and read the labels properly.

Flavourings: Are not seen as food additives and their job is not submitted to the same regulations. The food industry generally uses artificial flavourings to aromatise their products. They present no danger to the Diet.