Food additives are chemicals added to foods to keep them fresh or to enhance their colour, flavour or texture.
They may include food colourings (such as tartrazine or cochineal), flavour enhancers (such as MSG) or a range of
preservatives.
Most food additives are listed on the product label, along with other ingredients, in a descending order by weight
(flavours are an exception and do not need to be identified). Sometimes, the additive is spelt out in full. At other
times, it is represented by a code number: for example, cochineal may be listed as Colouring (120); sodium
sulphite may be shown as Preservative (221).
Animal tests for food additive safety
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is responsible for the approval of which food additives are
allowed in Australian foods. All food additives used in Australia undergo a safety assessment, which includes
rigorous testing, before they are approved.