Safe and harmful Preservatives

 What do you mean by preservatives?

Preservatives: -

Preservatives are the type of substances that are used in many products to prevent the product from spoilage or to extend the shelf-life of the particular products in which the preservatives should be added. These Preservatives can be used in eatables like food, beverages and not only in eatables it can also be added in medicines and cosmetic to prevent them from spoilage and to extend their shelf life so that when any consumer uses any particular product it will not react om their body. These preservatives can inhibit the growth of microorganisms like bacteria, yeast, and mold and can also slow down the process of chemical changes like oxidation that can cause food to go bad, prevent the medicines from spoilage and can preserve the change of color in various cosmetic products and food products and develop off flavors.

Preservatives are the type of chemical and natural agents that are added to the products to prevent the particular product from decomposition that are caused by microbial growth or undesirable chemical reaction. It is not mandatory that all the preservatives made from chemical that are harmful for us or are harmful for human body, although there are some of the preservatives that have occurred by natural process and that types of preservatives are very useful and beneficial for human body and for the food also.

Purpose of preservatives: -

Preservatives are added to various types of food items, beverages, cosmetics and medicines mainly to maintain the quality, safety of the product and to preserve the product from contamination by extending their shelf-life. Without the preservatives, the products get spoil quickly, many of the product get contaminated especially the food item it can contaminated easily by the growth of microorganisms and the food item give foul smell and bad taste. Some product can lose their flavor, color, taste and smell and these products become unsafe to consume due to microbial contamination. The purpose of adding preservatives in the various types of products are given below: -

To prevent microbial spoilage: -

Microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast, and mold are naturally present in the environment. It can be present in the various components of the environment such as air, water etc, when these microorganisms come in the contact with the air the growth of these microorganisms I creases rapidly they can quickly multiply themselves which can lead to the food contamination so to prevent the food from these microorganisms and from contamination preservatives can be used. Preservatives can prevent the food in coming in the contact of the food with these microorganisms and in any case the food can come in the contact with these microorganisms so the preservatives can help to stop or slow down the growth of microorganisms that can preserve the food from spoilage. Preservatives can inhibit or kill these microorganisms, keeping the food safe for consumption. 

To extend shelf life: -

The food can present for us in raw form and to get the food in cooked or in the delicious form we have to cook various types of ingredients along with spices and water. For this food has to undergoes in physical, chemical and biological changes after preparation. When the particular ingredient or many ingredients undergoes these changes along with the spices and water then we get the delicious dish and as said earlier the water contains microorganisms that are present on the food but when we cook the food on heat it can kill all the microorganisms so that we can get the fresh food. While cooking we can add some of the preservatives in the food that can kill all the microorganisms of the food. Preservatives slow the reaction of physical, chemical and biological changes of the food that allow the product to last longer during storage, transport and sale. This process can especially be used in packaged food or in many types of RTE products.

Types of preservatives: -

There are basically two types of preservatives that are available to us. 

Safe Preservatives: -

Safe preservatives are also a type f preservative that are used in various item to prevent the food from spoilage. The food can be prevented from the contamination by extending their shelf-life by adding various types of preservatives and moreover the more advantage over all this is that these types of preservatives are completely safe for human health. Safe preservatives are natural or approved synthetic substances that are added to food that slow down spoilage, bacterial growth or oxidation while remaining harmless to human health at permitted levels. It is a type of substances that are approved by food safety authorities like FSSAI, FDA or WHO which is the best-known authorities of food and health in the world. These safe preservatives are use in food, beverages and other consumable products. They protect food from spoilage and harmful microorganisms without posing health risk when used in proper accounts. 

Benefits of Safe Preservatives: -

The work of this type of safe preservatives is very similar to the other preservatives that is too safe the food product from contamination by extending its shelf life. Safe preservatives can slow down spoilage caused by bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms. This helps the food to stay fresh and edible for days, weeks, months and years.

These safe preservatives can inhibit the growth of harmful microorganisms such as molds, yeast and bacteria. This prevents the food from contamination and spoilage. The preservatives can extend the shelf life of the food by preserving the food from contamination.

Harmful Preservatives: -

Harmful preservatives are the types of substances added to food that can extend its shelf-life, but these types of harmful preservatives can have a negative impact on human health. While many preservatives are safe when used in approved limits, but some types of preservatives are harmful and unsafe when overused or used without regulation. These harmful preservatives can cause health problems, allergic reactions and even long-term diseases if consumed regularly in large amounts. These harmful preservatives may accumulate the body that can disturb the natural digestion of the human body or even it can damage vital organs over the time.