Calcium alginate (1) Background information. Calcium alginate is extracted from brown algae such as Laminaria, Macrocystis and Ascophyllum. Codex Alimentarius Commission, European Commission, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, US Food and Drug Administration, etc. approved it as a thickener for food. According to the evaluation results of FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, the daily allowable intake of this substance is "no need to limit".

Food additives not only have the characteristics of antioxidants and colorants, but also have the efficacy of nutritional supplements. In order to make people eat more diverse and healthier, food additives play an important role.

Saccharin sodium was invented by American G.Fahlarg and I.Remen in 1878. The United States began to produce saccharin sodium industrially in 1910. Compared with sucrose, the sweetness of saccharin sodium is about 500 times that of sucrose. Moreover, the price is low and the performance is stable, so it is widely used. For saccharin sodium, its disadvantages are mainly as follows: when its concentration exceeds 0.03%, it has bitter taste. When saccharin sodium is heated under acidic conditions, its sweet taste will gradually disappear.

The National Standard for Food Safety and Food Additives (GB2760-2014) newly issued by the National Health and Family Planning Commission was implemented on May 24th, 2015 and replaced the 2011 edition.

In the past few years, the food safety problems caused by the illegal use of food additives have left a shadow on consumers. The abuse of melamine, clenbuterol, formalin, Sudan red and other incidents have attracted the attention of the whole people and even affected the sales of some qualified products. In order to enable consumers to buy food with peace of mind, relevant departments must pay attention to the safety of food additives, implement targeted control measures, ensure the safety of consumers and promote the healthy development of the food industry.