The long fascinating history of food additives – and why we’re stuck with them

By Gunter Kuhnle, Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Reading

Battenberg cake is one of my favourite cakes. But when I tell people that one of the things I like most about this cake is its E-number, they tend to look at me strangely.

It contains the raising agent E541, acidic sodium aluminium phosphate, which is one of the most restricted food additives in the UK. This is due to health concerns about human exposure to aluminium.

According to the UK government regulations, E541 is permitted in almost nothing except “sponge cakes produced from contrasting…

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