The Health Effects of the Mysterious E-numbers: Myths and Realities

Data

Official data in SubjectManager for the following academic year: 2024-2025

Course director

  • Varjas Tímea

    assistant professor,
    Department of Public Health Medicine

Number of hours/semester

lectures: 24 hours

practices: 0 hours

seminars: 0 hours

total of: 24 hours

Subject data

  • Code of subject: OXF-ETV-h-T
  • 2 kredit
  • General Medicine
  • Optional modul
  • autumn
Prerequisites:

-

Course headcount limitations

min. 5 – max. 35

Available as Campus course for . Campus-karok: ÁOK ETK GYTK TTK

Topic

The food industries have been using food additives for decades, which aims to improve the shelf life, texture, nutritional value, appearance and digestibility of the products.

During the course lectures, the students will become more familiar with the groups of food additives, application areas, health effects of natural and artificial food additives. Our goal, to confirm or disprove the fear of using E-numbers on a scientific basis

Lectures

  • 1. Introduction, characterization of food additives and their groups - Varjas Tímea
  • 2. Technological excipients and differences between food additives - Varjas Tímea
  • 3. Hungarian, EU, USA food additives regulations - Zand Afshin
  • 4. The E-number system - Zand Afshin
  • 5. The new additive authorization procedure - Zand Afshin
  • 6. Safety investigation, review, controlling, forbidden food additives - Zand Afshin
  • 7. Food dyes (E100-E199) - Zand Afshin
  • 8. Health risks of Mono-azo food dyes - Zand Afshin
  • 9. Preservatives (E200-E260) and their applications - Zand Afshin
  • 10. Risks related to the consumption of preservatives - Zand Afshin
  • 11. Natural and artificial sweeteners Characteristics - Varjas Tímea
  • 12. Safe consumption of sweeteners - Varjas Tímea
  • 13. Usage and regulations of pH control agents (acidifiers) - Zand Afshin
  • 14. Hazards of acidity regulators - Zand Afshin
  • 15. Antioxidants (E300-E399), advantages and disadvantages - Zand Afshin
  • 16. Bulking and gelling agents or (gelatin substitute) - Zand Afshin
  • 17. Stabilizers and thickeners - Zand Afshin
  • 18. Guar gum (guarana) panic history - Zand Afshin
  • 19. Taste enhancer chemical structure - Zand Afshin
  • 20. Chinese restaurant syndrome - Zand Afshin
  • 21. Health concerns of polishers - Zand Afshin
  • 22. Health effects of clumping inhibitors - Zand Afshin
  • 23. Summary - Varjas Tímea
  • 24. Test - Varjas Tímea

Practices

Seminars

Reading material

Obligatory literature

Literature developed by the Department

PPT-presentations (Neptun)

Notes

Recommended literature

Conditions for acceptance of the semester

Absences should not exceed 15% of lectures and practicals (2x45 min). Otherwise signature of grade book is denied.

Mid-term exams

Examination: written test

Making up for missed classes

Based on individual consideration

Exam topics/questions

Neptun

Examiners

Instructor / tutor of practices and seminars