Present situation and development trend

Abstract: the consumption of flavors and fragrances plays a very important role in the production and consumption of food, but its safety research is not perfect due to the influence of various factors. Along with the improvement of people's living standard and the increasing importance of food safety, the importance of the security evaluation of flavor and fragrance is becoming increasingly prominent. This article introduces the characteristics, safety issues and the current situation of domestic and foreign security research, puts forward the main problems faced by the current security evaluation, and prospects for the future research.

Key words: edible flavors and fragrances; safety; evaluation

No. in the chart classification: TS202.3 document code: A article number: 1002-6630 (2010) 21-0409-04

The flavor of food plays a very important role in consumer choice and consumer food. In the process of food production, in order to improve the aroma of food and the unique flavor, it is often added to natural or synthetic flavor to achieve the purpose of. As a kind of food additives, food flavors and fragrances have important or special status in almost all processed foods. With the continuous improvement of living standards, people pay more and more attention to food safety. Not only that, since June 1, 2009, the people's Republic of China on the implementation of the "food safety law" is to increase the importance of food safety to a new height. Thus, the general existence of additives in food, including flavor and fragrance of the security will become the producers and consumers pay close attention to the problem.

1. The characteristics of food flavors and fragrances

A variety of flavors and fragrances, complex structure. It has been found that there are more than 10 thousand kinds of flavor substances in the food, which internationally allows the consumption of spices varieties on as many as 2600 kinds of [1]. Not only that, along with the development of food industry and perfume industry, the number is still increasing. The diversity and complexity of products have brought great challenges to the safety evaluation of edible spices. At present, China's edible flavors and fragrances of application is very extensive, in food processing, is inseparable from the edible flavors and fragrances [2], especially in cold drinks, meat, processed foods, sweet goods such as food processing, edible flavor and fragrance is essential. As the scope of the application of edible flavors and fragrances is more and more wide, the impact of its security is increasing. However, the general consumption of flavor and flavor is low, this feature makes it different from other commonly used food additives, such as preservatives, pigment, etc.. Edible flavors and fragrances are also considered a "self limit" additives, its added amount often by consumers accept degree of control [3-4], generally does not appear excessive use of the problem and its security problem is more likely to be neglected by people, people are attaching more and more importance of food flavors and fragrances security problem far below the colours, preservatives and other additives. However, with the development of the food industry, people's food structure has changed greatly, the proportion of food consumption is declining year by year, some of the new processing food consumption is convenient, and the consumption is increasing year by year [5]. Today the market of processed foods and 20 years ago compared has an extremely rich, people daily consumption containing various flavor and fragrance of food processing is several times or even several times in 20 years ago, especially some young people because of busy work and too busy to cook, more choices to fast food or semi-finished products instead of dinner. In spite of the self limitation of the flavor and fragrance, the content in a single food is not high, but if they are accumulated in a variety of food consumption, the total amount can not be ignored. Accumulate over a long period, the flavor of the intake for human especially children and adolescents (they are a major consumer groups, a variety of snacks and metabolic organs are not fully developed) health may will cause potential harm. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly control the application of flavors and fragrances, and to deepen the research on the safety of flavors and fragrances.

2. The safety problem of edible flavor and fragrance

2.1 the safety of raw materials

The raw material of food flavor and fragrance is one of the most important factors affecting the safety of the [6]. Spices production never to use not permitted varieties, but can not be used chemical raw materials of spices monomer alternative food grade spices, to reduce costs or improve products Liuxiang effect. However, some unscrupulous producers in order to reap huge profits by and inferior raw materials or non food grade raw material production resulting in food flavors and fragrances of safety problems have become increasingly prominent, become restrict edible flavors and fragrances for the development and popularization of primary problem [7].

2.2 the safety of processing technology

Processing technology is another possible factor that affects the safety of edible flavors and fragrances. Since 2002, the Swedish National Food Administration (Swedish NationalFood administration), Stockholm University (has) scientists reported fried potatoes and baked food containing acrylamide and acrylamide potential hazards since [8], scientists from the Germany, Belgium, China, Japan and other countries have been found in thermal reaction systems will produce acrylamide this safety problem [9-12]. Since 1960s, acrylamide has been used as a raw material for the purification of drinking water and other industrial applications, the existence of the food in the food has not been valued by people [13]. Acrylamide on human may have neurotoxic system, reproductive toxicity and potential carcinogenicity, caused by damage to the brain and central nervous, and was listed as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" [14-1 International Agency for research on cancer (IARC)

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