THE FUTURE
OF FOOD

Some of the food additives that we can still find in New Zealand manufactured foods, have already been banned in other countries. This includes certain food colours and dyes, artificial sweeteners and flavouring agents. With a recent study saying that 69% of food products in our supermarkets are ultra-processed, there is a high probability that we are consuming these potentially harmful additives on a regular basis.

Plant-based products consist of plant ingredients, without any animal derived ingredients. Unlike a plant-based diet that consists of plant foods that have gone through minimal processing, plant-based products can contain 5-10% additives.

It is safe to say that advancements in the food industry, and the inclusion of food additives to many foods have helped world hunger, making food production cheaper and extending the shelf life of food. However, does the pursuit of making food cheaper to produce have an impact on our health?

Food additives improve food shelf life and appearance, increase food safety and in some instances also enhance the taste of food. Currently, there are several thousand food additives that are in use and over the last few decades, and quite recently as well, certain food additives have been banned due to concerns of adverse effects on human health.

Plant-based products, and especially plant-based meat alternatives, have oils added to meet the fat content that an animal product would naturally have. Due to their low cost, refined vegetable oils are mostly used, such as soybean, corn and canola oil. In the process of extraction chemical solvents are used and oil is often exposed to heat which causes oxidation and damage. So, how healthy are such foods really?