Tokyo Food Safety Information Center » Tokyo Metropolitan Government food safety FAQ »How much food additives are in food?
How much food additives are in food?
How much food additives are in food?
If I want to know what additives there are in a food and how much there are, where on the label should I look?
What kinds of foods contain a lot of food additives?
Are there any food additives the people often get too much of?
The additives and the amounts thereof found in food are diverse and vary by food. Note, however, that there are legal limits on the amounts of additives which may be in foods and these limits are set such that they will have no impact on health even if eaten continuously for long periods of time.
Food additives are used to improve flavor, make appearance look better, and to ensure a long shelf life.
You can find the food additives used in a given food by checking the ingredients list on the label. Although the amounts used are not listed, they are regulated such that they can be eaten continuously for long periods of time and still not have a harmful effect on health.
Additives are used for a variety of purposes and it is not easy to classify foods by those which contain large amounts of additives and those which do not. Accordingly, it is necessary to look at the label for every food to find out what additives are used in it.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare purchases typical foods sold in supermarkets and other stores, measures the amounts of additives in them, and investigates how much food additives people are getting on average each day. The results of these investigations have shown that, aside from nitrate, on average people in Japan are taking in amounts of additives far below the maximum daily amounts deemed acceptable (ADI : Acceptable Daily Intake).
On average, people in Japan intake more nitrate daily than the established ADI. This is due to the fact that vegetables naturally contain nitrate. In fact, a national study revealed that the amount of natural nitrate taken in exceeds the amount of nitrate taken in as an additive. The amount of nitrate taken in from food additives is extremely small and is believed to pose no problem. In addition, as regards the natural nitrate contained in vegetables, based on the value of vegetables as food, data from existing experiments on food and diet, and international opinion as established in studies of nitrate conducted by international organizations, natural nitrate is not believed to be a problem at this time.
Comparison of daily intake amounts of food additives and established Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI)
Note: Average Japanese body weight: Average body weight of adults in survey year age 20 or older.
****2000 (calculated for average 50 kg body weight)
***2007 (calculated for average 50 kg body weight)
**2010 (calculated for average 58.9 kg body weight)
*2011 (calculated for average 58.6 kg body weight)
You can find the food additives used in a given food by checking the ingredients list on the label. Although the amounts used are not listed, they are regulated such that they can be eaten continuously for long periods of time and still not have a harmful effect on health.
Additives are used for a variety of purposes and it is not easy to classify foods by those which contain large amounts of additives and those which do not. Accordingly, it is necessary to look at the label for every food to find out what additives are used in it.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare purchases typical foods sold in supermarkets and other stores, measures the amounts of additives in them, and investigates how much food additives people are getting on average each day. The results of these investigations have shown that, aside from nitrate, on average people in Japan are taking in amounts of additives far below the maximum daily amounts deemed acceptable (ADI : Acceptable Daily Intake).
On average, people in Japan intake more nitrate daily than the established ADI. This is due to the fact that vegetables naturally contain nitrate. In fact, a national study revealed that the amount of natural nitrate taken in exceeds the amount of nitrate taken in as an additive. The amount of nitrate taken in from food additives is extremely small and is believed to pose no problem. In addition, as regards the natural nitrate contained in vegetables, based on the value of vegetables as food, data from existing experiments on food and diet, and international opinion as established in studies of nitrate conducted by international organizations, natural nitrate is not believed to be a problem at this time.
Comparison of daily intake amounts of food additives and established Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI)
Note: Average Japanese body weight: Average body weight of adults in survey year age 20 or older.
****2000 (calculated for average 50 kg body weight)
***2007 (calculated for average 50 kg body weight)
**2010 (calculated for average 58.9 kg body weight)
*2011 (calculated for average 58.6 kg body weight)