A Guide to Food Additives - F
| Name | Other Names | Purpose | Source |
|
False Flax |
Camelina sativa, camelina, false flax |
Edible seeds sprinkled on salads, making egg substitute, extracting camelina oil(resistant to oxidation and rancidity) |
Plant cultivated in Europe & Americas |
|
Fast green FCF |
E143, Food Green 3, Green 1724 |
Green food dye, poorly absorbed in intestines, used in tinned peas, vegetables, jellies, sauces, bakery mixes, fish & desserts. Allowed in USA. Not approved in European Union & other countries |
Synthetic |
|
Fat |
Lipids, oils |
Various types of fats are added to foods as ingredients as they also serve as an essential nutrient |
Isolated from eggs |
|
Flavoxanthin |
E161a |
Golden yellow food pigment used rarely in confectionary Not approved in USA or EU. Approved in Australia & new Zealand. |
Present in several plants, commercially made using buttercup |
|
Fennel |
Florence fennel, finocchio |
Bulb, leaves and fruits used in foods across the globe, bulb can cooked or used as garnish, soups & salads, leaves used in ethnic cuisines, fruits used in sausage, pickling, teas, fruit used as licorice powder & sweetener |
Native to the Mediterranean but grown all over the world |
|
Fenugreek |
"Greek hay" |
Ingredient in ethnic cuisines including leaves and seeds to make curries, stews, pita bread, relish and soups, also used in maple syrup & caramel in low concentration, flavoring agent in teas |
Fenugreek plant found mainly in India |
|
Ferric ammonium citrate |
E381 |
Acidity regulator in soft drinks such as Irn-Bru, water purification, infant foods, salt and supplement |
Synthetic, mixture of ammonia, iron and citric acid |
|
Ferrous gluconate |
E579, Iron (II) gluconate, I |
Adds uniform black color to black olives, iron fortification in foods |
ron(II) salt of gluconic acid, occurs in fruit, honey and wine |
|
Ferrous lactate |
E585, Iron(II) lactate |
Iron fortification, color retention agent, acidity regulator |
Iron salt of lactic acid, found in dairy products and in our own body |
|
Filé powder |
Gumbo filé |
Powder used to make gumbo(soup/stew), thickening agent, seasoning and earthy flavoring agent
|
Spicy herb made from dried and ground leaves of sassafras tree, found in North America |
|
Five Spice powder |
Combination of star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, fennel seeds |
Used to season chicken, duck, pork and seafood and various stews and Asian cuisines |
Occurs in fruit and fermented foods, produced by yeast fermentation of glucose |
|
Formic acid |
E236, methanoic acid |
Preservative and antibacterial agent, strong smell, used rarely in beverages, confectionery, baked goods and icecream |
Preset in ants, fruits(berries), honey and nettles, synthesized commercially |
|
Fructose |
Fruit sugar, levulose, D-fructose |
Water soluble, used as a commercial sweetener and source of nutrient in several food products |
Commercially derived from sugar cane, beets and maize, found in fruits, flowers, honey and root vegetables |
|
Fumaric acid |
E297 |
Fruit-like acid and stabilizing agent, acid in baking powder, used in beverages, making tortillas as preservatives, 'salt and vinegar' potato chips, coagulant in pudding mixes |
Synthesized, found in bolete mushrooms, lichen and Iceland moss |
