C2 3.7 Analysing substances

Key Points and Learning Objectives:

What are food additives and how can we identify them?

• Additives may be added to food in order to improve its appearance, taste and how long it will keep (its shelf life). Food scientists can analyse foods to identify additives, e.g. by using paper chromatography.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of instumental methods of analysis?

Advantages

• They are highly accurate and sensitive
• They are quick
• They enable very small samples to be…