An-Najah University Raises Awareness on Nutrition and Food Additives for students of Deir Al Ghosoun School
The Nutrition and Food Technology Department at An-Najah University recently organized a lecture to raise awareness on health implications of food additives.
The lecture was given by Dr. Samer Mudalal from the University's Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine and was organized for Deir Al-Ghosun Secondary Girls School's students.
The lecture focused on attaining knowledge and skills that school students need to make proper food choices and develop lifelong healthy eating patterns.
It included an overview of food additives, especially preservatives and artificial colors and their purchase behavior of processed foods containing food additives.
Dr. Mudalal noted that students rarely checked the indication of food additives on the processed food package, and they hardly put any effort to avoid the processed foods containing food additives.
He added that food additives are substances added to food to maintain or improve its safety, freshness, taste, texture, or appearance. They need to be checked for potential harmful effects on human health before they can be used.
Furthermore, the lecture featured talks on different topics such as the latest research on food additives, the role of regulatory bodies in regulating the use and approval of food additives and to evaluate their safety.
