Food additives at the intersection of food safety, freshness, and human health: a comprehensive review

Food additives are vital tools in the modern global food supply chain to ensure microbiological safety, enhance shelf life and maintain sensory attributes. But the rising consumption of highly processed foods has raised concerns about the long-term physiological impact of prolonged exposure to chemicals. Critical gaps in cumulative risk assessments are identified by analysing the regulatory frameworks of the European Food Safety Authority and the Food and Drug Administration. The goal of this review is to focus on the paradigm shift toward clean-label alternatives, offering a roadmap for balancing technological necessity with consumer health longevity. The review’s results support the current dual paradigms of food additives’ unquestionable efficacy in reducing foodborne pathogens and chemical degradation, in contrast to recent clinical and preclinical data linking specific synthetic agents to metabolic disruption, systemic inflammation, and gut microbiota symbiosis.