Information on food additives on food labels in Brazil: a critical analysis

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2023057004371

Keywords:

Food Additives, adverse effects, Nutritional Facts, Food Labeling, legislation & jurisprudence

Abstract

Questions about the safety of food additives and their consumption have been raised in recent years. The increased exposure to these substances, either by intake of ultra-processed foods or by the broad use and combination of various categories of additives) may be related to higher risks to consumer health. This article comments on the results of a study that quantified and characterized food additives found on the labels of 9,856 packaged foods and beverages available in Brazilian supermarkets. The study adopted a field diary method to record and analyze nonconformities in the lists of ingredients. The objective of this article is to discuss the use of additives identified on the labels and the limitations of Brazilian legislation, which should guarantee the right to information and health

References

Ministério da Saúde (BR), Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Portaria Nº 540, de 27 de outubro de 1997. Aprova o Regulamento Técnico: Aditivos Alimentares, definições, classificação e emprego. Diário Oficial da União, 28 out 1997; Seção 1: página 49.

Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy RB, Moubarac JC, Louzada ML, Rauber F, et al. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutr. 2019;22(5):936-41. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980018003762

Davidou S, Christodoulou A, Frank K, Fardet A. A study of ultra-processing marker profiles in 22,028 packaged ultra-processed foods using the Siga classification. J Food Comp Anal. 2021;99:103848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2021.103848

Montera VSP, Martins APB, Borges CA, Canella DS. Distribution and patterns of use of food additives in foods and beverages available in Brazilian supermarkets. Food Funct. 2021;12:7699 -708. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1FO00429H

Gaines A, Shahid M, Huang L, Davies T, Taylor F, Wu JHY, et al. Deconstructing the supermarket: systematic ingredient disaggregation and the association between ingredient usage and product health indicators for 24,229 Australian foods and beverages. Nutrients. 2021;13(6):1882. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13061882

Chazelas E, Deschasaux M, Srour B, Kesse-Guyot E, Julia C, Alles B, et al. Food additives: distribution and co-occurrence in 126,000 food products of the French market. Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):3980. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60948-w

Chassaing B, Koren O, Goodrich JK, Poole AC, Srinivasan S, Ley RE, et al. Dietary emulsifiers impact the mouse gut microbiota promoting colitis and metabolic syndrome. Nature. 2015;519(7541):92-6. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14232

Mc Cann D, Barrett A, Cooper A, Crumpler D, Dalen L, Grimshaw K, et al. Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2007;370(9598):1560-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61306-3

Connoly A, Hearty A, Nugent A, McKevitt A, Boylan E, Flynn A, et al. Pattern of intake of food additives associated with hyperactivity in Irish children and teenagers, Food Addit Contamin Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2010;27(4):447-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440040903470718

Feketea G, Tasbouri S. Common food colorants and allergic reactions in children: myth or reality? Food Chem. 2017;230:578-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.03.043

Guimarães ED, Caires Júnior LC, Musso CM, Almeida MM, Gonçalves CF, Pettersen KG, et al. Altered behavior of adult obese rats by monosodium l-glutamate neonatal treatment is related to hypercorticosteronemia and activation of hypothalamic ERK1 and ERK2. Nutr Neurosci. 2017;20(3):153-60. https://doi.org/10.1179/1476830515Y.0000000004

Saadeh M, Ferrante TC, Kane A, Shirihai O, Corkey BE, Deeney JT. Reactive oxygen species stimulate insulin secretion in rat pancreatic islets: studies using mono-oleoyl-glycerol. PLoS One. 2012;7(1):e30200. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0030200

Sales IMS, Barbosa JS, Santos FKS, Silva FCC, Ferreira PMP, Sousa JMC, et al Assessment of grape, plum and orange synthetic food f using in vivo acute toxicity tests. Food Technol Biotechnol. 2017;55(1):131-7. https://doi.org/10.17113/ftb.55.01.17.4770

Saikrishina K, Kumari R, Chaitanya K, Biswas S, Nayak PG, Mudgal J, et al. Combined administration of monosodium glutamate and high sucrose diet accelerates the induction of type 2 diabetes, vascular dysfunction, and memory impairment in rats. J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol. 2018;37(1):63-80. https://doi.org/10.1615/JEnvironPatholToxicolOncol.2018017186

Viennois E, Merlin D, Gewirtz AT, Chassaing B. Dietary emulsifier-induced low- grade inflammation promotes colon grade carcinogenesis. Cancer Res. 2017;77(1):27-40. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-16-1359

Martino JV, Van Limbergen J, Cahill LE. The role of carrageenan and carboxymethylcellulose in the development of intestinal inflammation. Front Pediatr. 2017;5:96. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2017.00096

Chia CW, Shardell M, Tanaka T, Liu DD, Gravenstein KS, Simonsick EM, et al. Chronic low-calorie sweetener use and risk of abdominal obesity among older adults: a cohort study. PLoS One. 2016;11(11):e0167241. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0167241

Martins APB, Levy RB, Claro RM, Moubarac JC, Monteiro CA. Participação crescente de produtos ultraprocessados na dieta brasileira (1987-2009). Rev Saude Publica. 2013;47(4):656-65. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-8910.2013047004968

Louzada MLC, Martins APB, Canella DS, Baraldi LG, Levy RB, Claro RM, et al. Alimentos ultraprocessados e perfil nutricional da dieta no Brasil. Rev Saude Publica. 2015;49:38. https://doi.org/I:10.1590/S0034-8910.2015049006132

Louzada MLC, Baraldi LG, Steele EM, Martins APB, Canella DS, Moubarac JC, et al. Consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity in Brazilian adolescents and adults. Prev Med. 2015;81:9-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.07.018

Juul F, Hemmingsson E. Trends in consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity in Sweden between 1960 and 2010. Public Health Nutr. 2015;18(17):3096-107. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980015000506

Pan American Health Organization. Ultra-processed food and drink products in Latin America: trends, impact on obesity, and policy implications. Washington, DC: PAHO; 2015 [citado 28 dez 2018]. Disponível em: https://iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/7699

Montera VSP. Caracterização de aditivos alimentares em rótulos de alimentos e bebidas comercializados em supermercados brasileiros [tese]. Rio de Janeiro: Instituto de Nutrição da UERJ; 2021.

Ministério da Saúde (BR), Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária. Resolução da Diretoria Colegiada – RDC Nº 2, de 15 de janeiro de 2007. Dispõe sobre o regulamento técnico sobre aditivos aromatizantes. Brasília, DF: Anvisa; 2007 [citado 2 out 2021]. Disponível em: https://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/saudelegis/anvisa/2007/rdc0002_15_01_2007.html

Ministério da Saúde (BR), Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária Resolução da Diretoria Colegiada – RDC Nº 45, de 3 de novembro de 2010. Dispõe sobre aditivos alimentares autorizados para uso segundo as Boas Práticas de Fabricação (BPF). Brasília, DF: Anvisa; 2010 [citado 2 out 2021]. Disponível em: https://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/saudelegis/anvisa/2010/rdc0045_03_11_2010.html

Petrus RR, Sobral PJA, Tadini CC, Gonçalves CB. The NOVA classification system: a critical perspective in food science. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2021;116:603-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2021.08.010

Senado Federal (BR). Código de Defesa do Consumidor e normas correlatas. 2. ed. Brasília, DF: SF Coordenação de Edições Técnicas; 2017. 132 p.

Published

2023-02-17

Issue

Section

Commentary

How to Cite

Information on food additives on food labels in Brazil: a critical analysis. (2023). Revista De Saúde Pública, 57(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2023057004371