Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXV, Issue 1
Written by Paula POŞAN, Laurentiu OLTEANU, Andra ŞULER, Lucica NISTOR, Camelia HODOSAN, Eugenia SOVAREL
Food additives (commonly known as E) are substances that are not normally consumed as a stand-alone food and are not used as characteristic food ingredients with or without nutritional value. The aim of the paper was to observe the presence of food additives in some products, such as cold cuts and spreads, more frequently used in children's food, which have high visibility on the shelf, due to the attractive packaging, but also advertising messages in the media. The method applied was the observation of components from the label of products for children and the determination of those that are harmful to human consumption. A questionnaire was also developed to determine consumer opinion. This study was conducted in the Bucharest area, in three large shopping centres. Sodium nitrite (E 250) is found in all foods for children under study. The parents have the obligation to choose the right nutrition for their children. 52.9% of adults admitted that they did not read the label of the food they bought. It is necessary to continuously educate consumers about potentially dangerous ingredients, added to food, reading the label, to determine their presence in the chosen product on the shelf, giving up buying food on the principle of quantity or reduced price to the detriment of quality.
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