According to the definition of the National Food Safety Standard "General Principles of Compound Food Additives" issued by the Ministry of Health on July 6, 2011, compound food additives are intended to improve food quality and facilitate food processing. , With or without the addition of auxiliary materials, a food additive blended by physical methods.

Advantages of compound additives:

A single food additive usually does not meet the requirements of food production. For example, the thickener carrageenan must meet the production requirements of jelly, and it must be combined with konjac fine powder to achieve the effect of water retention.

Compound food additives refer to food additive products made by compounding several or even dozens of food additives at a certain ratio. Such products have long been popular abroad. For example, edible flavors are compound food additives.

Advantages of compound additives Compound food additives have obvious advantages over ordinary food additives, mainly in:

(1) The role of various single food additives can be complemented, so that composite products are more economical and effective.

(2) Synergize the effectiveness of various food additives, thereby reducing their dosage and cost.

(3) Because the amount of single food additive is reduced, its side effects are reduced, and the safety of the product is improved.

(4) The flavor of food additives can be masked, optimized and strengthened to improve the taste of food.

(5) The performance of food additives can be improved, which can meet the processing performance of all aspects of food, so that it can be used in a wider range.

Because compound food additives have the above advantages, compound food additives are increasingly recognized and valued by people. More and more food companies are using compound food additives more and more widely, including many modern large and medium-sized companies. The reason is that the use of compound food additives is not only to solve the problem of insufficient strength of the enterprise, but also saves many unnecessary expenses and costs for the enterprise, such as complicated procurement costs, storage costs, transportation costs, experimental costs, etc.; Reduce the deviation and error of the dosage, avoid production accidents and risks.

The use of compound food additives is a shortcut to ensure food safety, reduce production risks, reduce production investment, save production costs, and accelerate the modernization of my country's food industry. Of course, when using compound food additives, because there is a process of understanding and familiarity with its performance, some technical problems may be encountered, which can be solved by asking and testing.

Compounding principle:

(1) Stability of compound ingredients Each component of the compound additive must have relatively stable conditions or maintain a relatively stable state in the compound product to stabilize the performance of the compound product.

(2) Synergistic effect of compounding components After compounding, the characteristics of each component play a complementary and coordinated role, resulting in an additive effect.

Many food additives are versatile, and it is important to understand the primary and secondary functions and physical and chemical characteristics of selected food additives. In the compounding process, first determine what its main function is, and select the appropriate compound and addition amount based on it.

(3) Different compounding ratios of compounding ingredients can produce different types of compound additives. For example, when using compounding emulsifiers, the compounding ratio of each component should ensure the requirements of emulsion type. Sometimes the HLB value of the emulsifier is equal to the best emulsified HLB value, and the system will undergo emulsion type inversion. Such a system is just a balanced system rather than a required stable system. This balanced system is often easily broken and unstable, so the ratio of emulsifier should be adjusted so that it generally meets the best HLB value. Avoid the phase transition point.

(4) The adaptive processed foods of compound additives are mostly a mixture of various ingredients. The additives after compounding should adapt to the differences in food form (solid, liquid, milky, etc.), composition, color and taste. .

The amount of compound additives should be determined according to experiments. For example, when the composite emulsifier is used, the critical micelle concentration of the food emulsifier is very low. If it is selected correctly, most foods generally use only less than 3%. If the choice is not good, it is tens of percent. No stable emulsion was obtained. When formulating with an emulsifier with a small HLB value and a large HLB value, some experts suggest that the HLB value of the selected emulsifier type should not be too different, generally within 5.

(5) The safety of compound additives The components of the compound compound additives and the amount added in their application must meet the hygienic standards for food additives. In participating in the competition in the international food market, the production and application of compound additives should strengthen legislation and management.

The selection of compound additive raw materials must follow the four basic principles of safety, compatibility, efficiency and economy.