Food additives are organic substances that are intentionally added to food in small quantities during production or processing to improve the organoleptic quality (colour, flavour, appearance, taste and texture) of the food. Food preservative is a class of food additive that help to prevent food spoilage by preventing the growth and proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms like Clostridium spp , Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. This can be achieved by bringing down the pH of the food so as to make the environment unfavourable for these microbes. This report aims to review the available literature on the various effects of food additives and preservatives on man as a result of the indiscriminate uses by food producers and food consumers. Many effects like food allergies, food intolerance, cancer, multiple sclerosis (MS), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), brain damage, nausea, cardiac disease among others have been reported.