ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

International Numbering System for Food Additives

Hey there! So you know how sometimes food has ingredients that you can't even pronounce? Well, those ingredients are actually called food additives, and they help the food look or taste better, or last longer without going bad.

To make it easier for people all around the world to understand what's in their food, scientists created something called the international numbering system for food additives. It's sort of like a secret code or a special way of naming these ingredients that everyone can understand, no matter what language they speak.

Every food additive has a unique number that represents it, and that number will be the same no matter where you go in the world. So, if you're in the United States and you see a food with the number 149, and then you travel to Japan and see a food with the number 149, you'll know that they both have the same ingredient in them.

This system helps keep people safe too because it makes it easier for food inspectors and nutrition experts to keep track of all the ingredients that are going into our food. And that's basically it! The international numbering system for food additives is just a special way of naming ingredients so that everyone can understand them, no matter where they live.