ABSTRACT
As the global population increases, there has been a growing demand for more food. Various physical means and chemical substances have been developed and utilized to enhance food supply. However, the increased efficiency of farming has reduced the number of farmers. In addition, with industrialization and urbanization, many more individuals are residing away from farmlands. These social changes have resulted in an ever-increasing demand for processed foods, which can be transported from farms to the cities, that will retain their nutritive value and organoleptic properties. These demands have been met largely by addition of chemicals known as food additives. These chemicals serve a variety of technological functions, as described in the section “Functional Groups of Direct Food Additives.”
