Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance. Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling (with vinegar), salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as with wines. With the advent of processed foods in the second half of the twentieth century, many more additives have been introduced, of both natural and artificial origin. With the increasing use of processed foods since the 19th century, food additives are more widely used. Many countries regulate their use. Such cases led to a general mistrust of food additives, and an application of the precautionary principle led to the conclusion that only additives that are known to be safe should be used in foods. There has been significant controversy associated with the risks and benefits of food additives. Periodically, concerns have been expressed about a linkage between additives and hyperactivty, however “no clear evidence of ADHD was provided”.

In the present book, fifteen typical literatures about food additives published on international authoritative journals were selected to introduce the worldwide newest progress, which contains reviews or original researches on food safety, food processing, chemical products, food allergy, nutrition, ect. We hope this book can demonstrate advances in food additives as well as give references to the researchers, students and other related people.