Frecuencia de aditivos alimentarios en productos procesados para bebésenCochabamba, Bolivia
Additives are necessary substances to improve the nutritional and organoleptic properties and the shelf life of processed food. In addition, their use is regulated, and it must be declared on the food labels. Thus, the objective of this research was to determine the frequency of food additives in processed baby products in Cochabamba metropolitan area (Bolivia). Data were collected by label reading and a frequency analysis was performed by additives and by functional group. 26 baby products were found where 41 food additives were identified with an occurrence of 256 times, and a mean of 9,8 additives per product. Moreover, the functional groups most widely used are antioxidants and colorants. Finally, the most frequent additives are mostly harmless, except for sodium nitrate and copper sulfate.
Frecuencia de aditivos alimentarios en productos cárnicos procesados bolivianos expedidos en la ciudad de Cochabamba, Bolivia
Los aditivos alimentarios son sustancias adicionadas a algunos alimentos con un fin tecnológico; su uso está estrictamente regulado y por esta razón se declaran obligatoriamente en las etiquetas de los alimentos. El objetivo del estudio fue identificar la frecuencia de los aditivos alimentarios en productos cárnicos procesados producidos en Bolivia y comercializados en la ciudad de Cochabamba, durante el 2020. Para este fin, se realizó la lectura de etiquetas de los alimentos procesados presentes en mercados y supermercados de la ciudad, con un tamaño de muestra de 134 alimentos. Se realizaron análisis de frecuencias según aditivos presentes, grupos funcionales y tipo de alimento. Los resultados preliminares mostraron 37 aditivos pertenecientes a seis grupos funcionales, los más frecuentes fueron nitrito de sodio (70,9%), polifosfatos (61,2%) y almidón (47,8%). Los alimentos con mayor número de aditivos (5) fueron los quesos de chancho o pollo, las salchichas y las mortadelas. Por último, se encontró que algunas empresas no declaran los aditivos de forma correcta, por lo que se desconocen los aditivos utilizados.
Food Additives Frequency in processed baby products in Cochabamba, Bolivia
Additives are necessary substances to improve the nutritional and organoleptic properties and the shelf life of processed food. In addition, their use is regulated, and it must be declared on the food labels. Thus, the objective of this research was to determine the frequency of food additives in processed baby products in Cochabamba metropolitan area (Bolivia). Data were collected by label reading and a frequency analysis was performed by additives and by functional group. 26 baby products were found where 41 food additives were identified with an occurrence of 256 times, and a mean of 9,8 additives per product. Moreover, the functional groups most widely used are antioxidants and colorants. Finally, the most frequent additives are mostly harmless, except for sodium nitrate and copper sulfate.