Antioxidants: Regulatory Status

Edible Oil and Fat Products: Chemistry, Properties, and Safety Aspects
Fereidoon Shahidi

Fereidoon Shahidi

Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

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HYing Joy Zhong

HYing Joy Zhong

Dupont Nutrition and Health, Kansas City, KS, USA

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Priyatharini Ambigaipalan

Priyatharini Ambigaipalan

Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

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First published: 17 February 2020
Citations: 5

Abstract

Oxidation of unsaturated lipids is a major cause of food quality deterioration by giving rise to the development of off-flavor compounds and loss of nutritional value of food products. Antioxidants are substances that, when present in foods at low concentrations compared with that of an oxidizable substrate, markedly delay or prevent the oxidation of the substrate by quenching free radicals or scavenging oxygen, among others. Antioxidants that fit in this definition include free radical scavengers, inactivators of peroxides, and other reactive oxygen species (ROS), chelators of metal ions, and quenchers of secondary lipid oxidation products that produce rancid odors. Antioxidants have also been used in the health-related area because of their ability to protect the body against damage caused by ROS, reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and those of reactive chlorine species (RCS). The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the claim of antioxidants in nutrient labeling. According to FDA, the antioxidant claim is possible only if there is an established reference daily intake (RDI) and a scientific evidence of antioxidative effect after absorption in the gastrointestinal tract.

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