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What Foods Contain Adipic Acid?

Boasting the lowest acidity of all the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approved food acid additives, adipic acid is still acidic enough to prohibit browning of most of the fruits in America. Adipic acid is used in a lot of dry powdered food mixes, as well as powdered and flavored drinks and other food items such as jam, jelly, gelatins, cheeses and much more.

  1. Jam, Jelly, Gelatin

    • If you have ever wondered what causes your imitation jam, jelly or gelatin to be able to hold its gel-like shape, it's adipic acid, according to the Encyclopedia of Food and Color Additives. This additive is classified as a general purpose additive. It can be used to help jams, jellies and gelatins hold their shapes, as well as to help in coloring them and to provide a tart taste.

    Cheeses

    • Processed cheeses also contain adipic acid. This helps to form the right texture needed for processed cheeses, giving it a firmer texture, enabling it to be boxed or wrapped for packaging purposes. Adipic acid is also used to improve the melting characteristics of cheese used in cheese spread products.

    Baking Powders

    • Another food product containing adipic acid is baking powder. According to the Encyclopedia of Food and Color Additives, when adipic acid is applied to baking powder, it acts as a leavening agent for the food product to be prepared. Cake mixes are one example of a baking powder that contains adipic acid.

    Other Foods

    • Other foods and products containing adipic acid include: instant pudding, fruit-flavored beverages, evaporated milk, throat lozenges and flavoring extracts.

      Adipic acid, like other food additives used in the United States, is required to be listed on food packaging labels by either its name (adipic acid) or by a code number (adipic acid is 355). This helps consumers make informed decisions about which foods to ingest. Some food additives are metabolized in the body completely after ingestion, while others -- like adipic acid -- are only partially metabolized that way, with the remaining adipic acid leaving the body through your urine.

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