What does ascorbic acid mean?
L-Ascorbic acid (C6H8O6) also known as vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that is found in nature. Citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, green pepper, broccoli, and cabbage are the important natural dietary sources for humans, but the content varies depending on variety, environmental factors, and processing.
How is ascorbic acid obtained?
Vitamin C and ascorbic acid are the same on the basis of chemical formula. Vit-C founds naturally in your orange. Ascorbic acid is industrially prepared from glucose for commercial purposes. In the food industry, L-ascorbic acid and its salts are used as food additives. When ascorbic acid is approved as a food additive in the EU, it is called E300.
Where is E300 used?
L-Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is widely used in the food and beverage industry. It is added to processed fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, milk, fats, oils, flour, soft drinks, malt beverages, wine, confections, and synthetic foods.
Why is E300 used in foods and drinks?
E300 prevents fruit browning, prevents vegetable discolorations, inhibits oxidative rancidity in fish, stabilizes meat color, improves dough in bakery, accepts oxygen in beer processing, plays a role as a reducing agent in wine, inhibits oxidation in dairy products.
One of the most important characteristics of ascorbic acid is its reducing ability. In meat and ground meat the ascorbic acid prevents the oxidation and the discoloration of the product during storage.
Ascorbic acid (E300), its salts (E301, E302), and its lipophilic esters (E304) are used in the food industry as an additive. Ascorbyl palmitate (E304) is the fat-soluble form of vitamin C. E304 is used effectively in foods that have high levels of unsaturated fatty acids like sunflower oil, olive oil, peanut butter, cotton oil, and in addition butter, margarine, and mayo as well.
As a conclusion, ascorbic acid is used:
· In juices and carbonated drinks, it is used as a flavoring
· In concentrates juices especially lemon concentrates it is used as an antioxidant and nutrient.
· In the meat industry, maintain color
· In bakery, dough enhancer
· In beer, stabilizer, and preservative
What are the bad side effects of high-dose ascorbic acid?
Consuming too much ascorbic acid may cause some bad side effects like nausea, vomiting, heartburn, stomach cramps, headache, diarrhea, general abdominal discomfort.