Question

What are Antioxidants? Why are they added to fat and oil containing foods?

Answer 1

Antioxidants prevent oxidation. These are substances that can prevent or slow down the damage to cells caused by free radicals which are unstable molecules that the body produces as a reaction to environmental and other pressures. They are added to fat and oil containing food to prevent their oxidation. Preservatives added in food are one of the examples of antioxidants.

Complete Step by Step Solution
Antioxidants are molecules that fight free radicals in our body. They’re linked to various illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Antioxidants play an important role in food production by increasing the life of food by preventing oxidation.
Antioxidants are widely used in food and cosmetic industries to prevent oxidation of fats and oils. These compounds minimize oxidation of fats and oils by becoming oxidized themselves or by donating hydrogen to fatty acid free radicals so that free-radical chemical chain reactions can be halted.

Additional Information
Examples of Antioxidants: Vitamin C-This antioxidant is an essential dietary nutrient. Vitamin E-This fat-soluble antioxidant plays an important role in protecting cell membranes.
Lipid oxidation is one of the most important processes that affect both oils or fats and foods that contain them. It is responsible for the development of unpleasant taste and smell in foods. An antioxidant slows down the rate of lipid oxidation process. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals which are responsible for the oxidation of lipids.

Note
Egg yolk is a key ingredient in many food products, such as bakeries with high fat content. One of the most important problems in egg yolk production is lipid oxidation which is responsible for the development of unpleasant flavors and odors due to degradation of fat soluble vitamins. So, here antioxidants are used to increase the life time of foods by preventing their oxidation.