food adÂ·diÂ·tives. Natural and chemical agents added to prepared foods to enhance some aspect of the food (e.g., shelf life, appearance, nutrition levels). food additives. Substances, numbered in thousands, added to food for purposes of preservation, appearance, flavour, texture or nutritional value. Without additives, much food would soon be spoiled and wasted. Common additives include vitamins, minerals and trace elements in bread, cereals, milk, margarine, table salt, fruit drinks and baby foods. Flavouring and colourings include sugar, salt, mustard, pepper, monosodium glutamate and tartrazine.
I make my own pasta dough frequently. Since my standard recipe makes around 40oz (1 kg) of dough, I always have leftover, so I've had plenty of experience with saving it. Even with eggs, pasta dough will be fine in the fridge for a week; the texture will be unaffected (if anything, it will be better). If you want to keep it longer than a week, it can be frozen for several weeks wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and more-or-less indefinitely if you vacuum-seal it.
Thereâs no need to put dried pasta in the fridge â it wonât extend the shelf life. Fresh pasta, on the other hand, has a very short shelf life. An unopened package of fresh pasta should last about a week in the fridge, while fresh pasta you made yourself will probably last only two days in the fridge. You can extend the shelf life of fresh pasta to about two weeks by freezing it, but when you have fresh pasta in the fridge, how long can you really wait without devouring it?