> that humans have been eating for decades rather than centuries

That's false btw. We humans have been eating emulsifiers and preservatives for centuries, even if we only classified them decades ago. Examples:

- Lecithin (E322): naturally found in egg yolk

- Citric acid (E330): naturally found in lemons and oranges

- Agar (E406): found in red seaweed, an edible crop from southeast Asia

- some sulphites (E221, E226) naturally occur in wines. Old wines are actually likely to contain more sulphites than modern ones since we now have a body of knowledge about them and their health-related impacts