Many packaged foods contain unusual ingredients. Here is a list of the more unusual additives and why they are in your food: Carnauba wax: gives sweets an attractive shine.
Corn starch: makes marshmallows firm.
Corn syrup: high fructose corn syrup adds sweetness and flavour to ketchup.
Gelatin: makes some foods fluffy.
Glycerine: helps retain moisture and keep food soft.
Gum base: this is the main ingredient of chewing gum. It may include pine-tree rosin and wax.
Lecithin: made from soya beans. It helps stabilise a food mixture.
Liquid invert sugar: keeps food sweet and moist.
Modified starch: a “binder” that helps hold jelly babies together.
