Lesson plan
Clouding agent
Clouding agents or cloudifiers are a type of food additive used to make beverages such as fruit juices to look more cloudy, and thus more natural-looking and visually appealing, typically by creating an emulsion of oil droplets. Natural fruit juices are often opalescent, due to protein, oil or pectin particles from plant cell fragments. To mimic this visual effect in low-juice content soft drinks, a clouding agent is added. Common clouding agents include palm oil, Arabic gum and extracts of citrus fruits, and titanium dioxide may be used to enhance their color strength. The illegal use of the plasticizer DEHP in clouding agents was reported in Taiwan in 2011.
Article summary
Clouding agents or cloudifiers are a type of food additive used to make beverages such as fruit juices to look more cloudy, and thus more natural-looking and visually appealing, typically by creating an emulsion of oil droplets. Natural fruit juices are often opalescent, due to protein, oil or pectin particles from plant cell fragments. To mimic this visual effect in low-juice content soft drinks, a clouding agent is added. Common clouding agents include palm oil, Arabic gum and extracts of citrus fruits, and titanium dioxide may be used to enhance their color strength. The illegal use of the plasticizer DEHP in clouding agents was reported in Taiwan in 2011.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.