Food additives are widely used by the food industries for attracting a larger
number of consumers by making the food more appealing. Some of the food additives
which are used by the food industries are bulking agents, emulsifiers, food colorants,
flavoring agents, preservatives, and sweeteners. Despite the beneficial effects of food
additives, these additives can also cause serious adverse effects on humans. Some of
the most common adverse events include anaphylaxis, asthma, urticaria and/or
angioedema. In this chapter, we describe the adverse health events that are caused as a
result of different food additives with special reference to allergic, immunologic
reactions, asthma, autoimmune diseases, cancer, diabetes and metabolic disorders.
Although the animal and in vitro studies that examined the adverse health effects of
different food additives are available, the clinical studies which examined the adverse
health effects of different food additives in a large population group are very limited.
Keywords: Artificial additives, Immune response health effects.
