Food additives are widely spread nowadays and without them it is hard to imagine any of our modern food. Not only processed food contains a lot of chemicals, but also such inconvenient food as eggs, meat or milk is filled with additives due to the use of antibiotics in animal feed.
There are several strong advantages concerning chemical usage in food. First is access to food for everybody. Additives significantly increase food production efficiency which make food cheaper and as a result affordable for all social groups. The second advantage is the increase of food expiration date and it is a very important factor for food producers. If food expires too fast, it directly influences the value of stock and the cost for logistics. The last advantage is that food becomes more tasty and attractive for customers so they enjoy it much more for almost the same amount of cost.
But not only advantages are associated with chemicals which are used to preserve or produce food. Since the 1970s the scientists have proved a lot of negative effects from additives in food. First and the most significant is the bad influence on physical well-being. Considering the effect on health, all chemicals which are added to the food are ranged from the most dangerous to the safest. Not only long term consequences can occur in the human body caused by food additives, but also instant allergic reactions which can be even fatal.
Concerning food additives it is really hard to decide if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, but the food industry slowly but constantly is moving towards more safe and clean food production and preservation and less additive usage. This makes us fear chemicals in our food less.