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The Use of BHA, BHT, and Ethanol in the Food Industry

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The Use of BHA, BHT, and Ethanol in the Food Industry
Due to the necessity of keeping the food's natural characteristics and appearance for longer, to meet the requirements of consumers, and because of the short life that natural food have, certain chemical compound have discovered and developed certain ways to preserve food and extend their life for longer. Furthermore, there are many different types of chemical compounds were added to our daily diet, yet certain chemical compounds can be listed on the nutrition label, and even they cannot be tested or seen on the products. Butylated hydroxyanisole and Butylated hydroxytoluene and Ethanol are among of that chemical compounds, which were used in certain food and beverages in order to preserve them. The aim of this essay is to discuss the use of BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) and Ethanol in the food industry, also this essay will discuss and define the side effects of them on our daily diet.
Both BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene) are phenolic compounds. The phenolic compound is a type of organic chemistry which made of a hydroxyl group (-OH) and bonded to an aromatic hydrocarbon group known as phenols or phenolics (James, 2012).
BHA and BHT are developed since 1947, which were used to check the oxidation in rubber products, before they were used as food preservatives. Nowadays BHA and BHT are widely used in food products as well as in the pharmaceutical field. Also it believed that BHA and BHT are self-treatment medications, and also they can be a replacement for vitamin A and E. However so far there is no side-affect have discovered on these two(James, 2012). Although both BHA and BHT are widely used, but consumers are only aware of BHT as a food additive, which approximately 5% of it is used the United States in food. The function of BHT is based on the physical properties which consist of crystalline solid and organic acid that has the melting point of 122oC and boiling point of 249oC.
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Bibliography: Blakistone. B.(1998) Principle and Applications of Modified Atmosphere Packaging of Foods. Chapman & Hall. James. A.(2012) General, Organic, and Biochemistry. Brooks/Cole. John. H, Cheryl. H, Richard. S, Christine. S.(1991) Toxics A to Z. The Regents of the University of California. Russell. I, Gould. G.(2003) Food Preservatives. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.

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