What Is That? (Glossary)

People who make instant noodles, not all but some, have a tendency to have things in the ingredients list that we might not recognise as actual food stuffs. Here's a list of the things I find, why they're in the food and what else they're used for. This is a growing list and I get most of my information from Wikipedia so the links will take you directly to their Wikipedia entry:

• Butylated Hydroxyanisole (E320): This is a waxy solid which, has been and, still is used as a food additive, specifically as an antioxidant and preservative, since 1947. In certain animal tests it has seen to act as a carcinogen and although most people say the levels used are safe for humans the state of California has gone so far as to list BHA as a carcinogen.


• Citric Acid: This is a weak organic acid that is used in food production for a few reasons. It is a natural preservative, it is used to add a sour flavour but it also used to make sure there's no scale or precipitates. You might think we get our citric acid direct from citrus fruits but alas no, instead they feed a particular mold lots of sugar and then isolate the citric acid from the resultant solution - tasty!


• Curcumin (E100): This is found in turmeric and is partly responsible for giving it its yellow colour. Following a number of studies curcumin is believed to have a nigh number of health beneficial properties, however as with many antioxidants, it is also suggested that it carries some carcinogenic properties also, especially in reference to colon cancer.


• Dipotassium Phosphate: Not only used as a food additive this highly water-soluble salt is also used as a fertilizer and a buffering agent. It's used in things like non0dairy creamers to prevent coagulation and is generally recognised as safe.


• Disodium 5'-ribonucleotides (E635): This is a flavour enhancer that creates an umami taste and is commonly used alongside MSG. In the proportion 98% MSG / 2% E635 it will give 4 times the flavour enhancement of MSG on its own. It is recommended that no food containing disodium ribonucleotides should be consumed by gout and asthma sufferers or people with an allergic reaction to aspirin. However, the concentrations used are generally so low that no effects are to be expected.
  


• Disodium Guanylate (E627): This is a food additive and flavour enhancer that is used in conjunction with MSG and disodium inosinate. It's not safe for babies under 12 weeks old and should be avoided by asthmatics and those with gout. Since it is often produced from fish vegans and vegetarians may want to avoid it. It can be produced however from seaweed or yeast.


• Disodium Inosinate (E631): This is a flavour enhancer used alongside MSG to produce an umami taste. When it is added to E637 the compound is then known as E635 (see above). It's usually made from meat or fish (so watch out vegans / vegetarians) but it can also be produced from tapioca starch.


• Dried Glucose Syrup: Mainly known as corn syrup in the US and is predominantly made from the starch of maize. It's used to soften texture, add volume, prevent sugar crystallisation and enhance flavour. Technically, glucose syrup is any liquid starch hydrolysate of mono-, di-, and higher-saccharides and can be made from any source of starch; wheat, tapioca and potatoes are the most common other sources. If mixed with sugar, water and cream of tartar it can be used to make sugar glass.


• Egg Albumen: This is just another name for egg white


• Guar Gum: Primarily the ground endosperm of guar beans. The guar seeds are dehusked, milled and screened to obtain the guar gum. Guar gum is economical because it has almost eight times the water-thickening potency of cornstarch - only a very small quantity is needed for producing sufficient viscosity.


• Malic Acid: This  is an organic compound. It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the pleasantly sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive.


• Maltodextrin: This is a cheap thickener that comes from rice, corn, barley, wheat or potato starch. It can be slightly sweet but is usually tasteless.


• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) (E621): This is a very common flavour enhancer that was first isolated in Japan in 1908. Although it has received quite a lot of bad press it is less toxic than salt and really only helps to promote flavour with meat products. Plus, if you were to have too high a concentration of MSG in your food it really wouldn't taste very nice at all.


• Potassium Carbonate (E501): Predominantly used in the production of soap, glass and china, Potassium Carbonate (K2CO3) is used as a thickening agent in food as it attracts water. It can also be used as a baking agent in German gingerbread and as a buffering agent in the production of mead or wine.


• Potassium Chloride: To me, this is scary stuff. Potassium Chloride (KCl) is used to replace salt in foods, not that it tastes particularly salty. Yes the human body does require potassium but I would say to eat a banana. KCl is used in lethal injections, to stop the heart during heart surgery and is useful as a beta radiation source for calibration of radiation monitoring equipment. There is a concern over its severe effects on cardiac muscles as high doses will cause cardiac arrest and rapid death.


• Propyl Gallate (E310): Used since 1948 Propyl Gallate is a food preservative and antioxidant. As well as foods it is also used in cosmetics, hair products, adhesives and lubricants. A 2009 study found it to act as an estrogen antagonist which could therefore make it useable in the treatment of breast cancer.


• Rusk: To the British, butcher rusk is a dry biscuit broken into particles, sorted by particle size and sold to butchers and others for use as a food additive in sausage manufacture. Though originally made from stale bread, now called "bread-rusk", a yeast-free variety called simply "rusk" is now more commonly used. Various rusk particle sizes are used in the food industry, where uses include as carrier for flavours, colours and seasonings; a binding agent in hamburgers, sausages, stuffings, pies, and other compound meat products; an ingredient for dried stuffing mixes


• Silicon Dioxide: Also known as silica (from the Latin silex), is a chemical compound that is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula SiO₂. It has been known for its hardness since ancient times. Silica is most commonly found in nature as sand or quartz, as well as in the cell walls of diatoms. Silica is a common additive in the production of foods, where it is used primarily as a flow agent in powdered foods, or to absorb water in hygroscopic applications. It is the primary component of diatomaceous earth, which has many uses ranging from filtration to insect control. It is also the primary component of rice husk ash, which is used, for example, in filtration and cement manufacturing. A study that followed subjects for 15 years found that higher levels of silica in water appeared to decrease the risk of dementia. The study found an association between an increase of 10 milligram-per-day of the intake of silica in drinking water with a decreased risk of dementia of 11%.
• Sodium Carbonate (E500): Again mainly used in the production of glass, or water softening, Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3) is used as an acidity regulator, anti-caking agent, raising agent, and stabilizer. It is one of the components of kansui which essentially a type of alkaline mineral water used to give instant noodles their characteristic flavour and texture. Kansui can also contain Potassium Carbonate and sometimes a small amount of phosphoric acid.


• Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose: This is a sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose (E466) and is primarily a viscosity modifier or thickener. It's used in a number of things  such as personal lubricants, toothpaste, laxatives, diet pills, water-based paints, detergents, textile sizing, and various paper products. It is used primarily because it has high viscosity, is nontoxic, and is hypoallergenic (except for those suffering an intolerance to wheat).


• Sodium Diacetate (E262): It is a 1:1 mixture of sodium acetate and acetic acid but is also described as the sodium acid salt of acetic acid. As a food additive it is used to impart a salt and vinegar flavour. The sodium acetate crystal lattice locks in the free acetic acid molecules until the compound is broken down in a solution. This characteristic masks the very sharp acetic acid odour while releasing the flavour when the compound is wet out during use. Sodium diacetate is typically available as a free flowing, dust free salt which requires airtight storage to prevent degradation due to acetic acid loss.


• Tricalcium Phosphate: This is is a calcium salt of phosphoric acid and  is used in powdered spices as an anticaking agent. Possible side effects in humans are nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, constipation, dry mouth, increased thirst and increased urination.


• Trisodium Citrate (E331):  This additive will provide a saline, mildly tart flavour. For this reason, citrates of certain alkaline and alkaline earth metals (e.g. sodium and calcium citrates) are commonly known as "sour salt" (occasionally citric acid is erroneously termed sour salt).