According to Codex Alementarius Commission food additives refer to substances intentionally added to food for technological reason in food production, processing, transporting  and storage, but not those added to enhance nutritional quality such as Vitamins.

Research has found that many consumers strongly believed that additives are primarily used to adulterate food, conceal inferior and less expensive ingredients, rather than improve it.

Food additives can camouflage inferior quality foods in variety of ways:

Colours disguise the color of meat and meat products resulting  from poor handling. Like tocino with bright red color. Colours is also used in fruit juices to mask its dilution in water.

Artificial flavours and sweeteners  in fruit drinks  mask low juice content.

Flavour enhancers in soup and soup mixes  hide the absence of natural flavor. Same trick goes with snack products.

Meat enhancers disguise low quality meat.