Additive guides · Product label guide
Food additives: what they are, the common types and which ones people check labels for.
Updated
What food additives are, the FDA’s GRAS framework, the main types of additives, and the nine groups shoppers most often avoid with the label names, evidence guides and real product counts from our catalog.
Quick answer
Food additives are substances added to food for safety and freshness, nutrition, or taste and texture. In the US, additives are either approved by the FDA or generally recognized as safe (GRAS) when supported by science showing reasonable certainty of no harm. Which ones to “avoid” is a personal choice: this site tracks nine groups people commonly avoid (seed oils, artificial dyes, MSG, artificial sweeteners, carrageenan, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, corn syrups and additives restricted abroad) and shows which labels list them.
- Purposes
- Safety, nutrition, taste and texture
- US framework
- FDA approval or GRAS
- Tracked here
- 9 groups
- Not a health rating
- Label reference
01 · A closer look
What food additives are.
The FDA groups additives by purpose: preservatives and antioxidants for safety and freshness, vitamins and minerals for nutritional value, and flavors, sweeteners, emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, leavening agents and acidity regulators for taste and texture. For GRAS ingredients, the safety case must show a reasonable certainty of no harm, and the FDA notes it can never be absolutely certain of no risk.
FDA: food additives and GRAS ingredients, information for consumers (current as of May 24, 2024)02 · A closer look
The nine groups this site tracks.
Each group has a guide listing label names, how many current catalog labels list it, and products with none found.
| Group | Examples on labels | Evidence guide |
|---|---|---|
| Seed oils | Canola, soybean, sunflower oil, “vegetable oil” | What are seed oils? |
| Artificial dyes | Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, “artificial color” | US food dye ban |
| MSG | Monosodium glutamate | MSG guide |
| Artificial sweeteners | Aspartame, sucralose, Ace-K | Aspartame and artificial sweeteners |
| Carrageenan | Carrageenan | Carrageenan guide |
| Preservatives | BHA, BHT, TBHQ, benzoates, nitrites | Common food preservatives |
| Hydrogenated oils | Partially hydrogenated oils | Hydrogenated oils guide |
| Corn syrups | High-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup | Corn syrup guide |
| Restricted abroad | Potassium bromate, titanium dioxide | Additives restricted abroad guide |
03 · A closer look
How to choose what to avoid.
Pick the groups that matter to you in the avoid list and read the ingredient list, which names additives where the front of the package does not. “Natural flavors” are not flagged but are listed on their own guide. A short ingredient list is often the simplest filter.
Primary sources