Food additives are added to packaged food and drinks to improve the quality, taste or appearance of the food or drink or extend its storage life. ^1,2

Some examples of additives include preservatives, emulsifiers, colourings, sweeteners and anti-caking agents.

Additives need to meet certain safety standards to be approved by the government for use in our food. 

You can find the name or number of the additive in the ingredients list of packaged food. For example, monosodium glutamate may appear as MSG or 621. 

For some additives, it is required that the class name, which tells you what the additive does, is included as well. MSG's class name is ‘Flavour enhancer’, so it would appear as Flavour enhancer (MSG) or Flavour enhancer (621) in the ingredients list.

If you or someone you care for has been medically diagnosed with a food additive allergy or intolerance, it is important to consult a dietitian to help you navigate food labels. This is because there may be times when the ingredients list is not required to be listed on the label, such as for foods in small packaging with a surface area of less than 100 cm², which means that additives would not be listed too. 

References:

1. Food Standards Australia & New Zealand. Food additive labelling. Food Standards Australia & New Zealand, 2020. Available from: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/labelling/Pages/Labelling-of-food-additives.aspx
2. Food Standards Australia & New Zealand. What do food additives do? Food Standards Australia & New Zealand, 2016. Available from: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/additives/additiveinfo/Pages/default.aspx