The food itself is 100% chemical. Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals - all chemicals.
If you see allyl isothiocyanate in the ingredient list would you be concerned? That’s the “hot” flavour in horseradish, mustard and wasabi. Remove that and you have no taste at all. Alpha-tocopherol? That’s the strongest of several forms of tocopherol that you may know as "vitamin E" and found naturally in a variety of whole grains. Folic acid, niacin, nicotinamide, ascorbic acid, beta-carotine, - these are all essential vitamins. So far, these materials already exist in the food. Salt is frequently added (sometimes a bit too much), and sucrose, maltose, glucose, fructose are all sugars (we are worried about too much sugar).
We add colors of course because nobody would buy grey smarties or M&Ms, and we sometimes add preservatives such as potassium sorbate, citric acid, and vinegar. Sodium benzoate is a generally-recognized-as-safe preservative that prevents bacterial growth and also seems to be therapeutic for several conditions.
Yes, there has to be a sense of nuance in the way we denounce things. To roundly condemn anything chemical (which is everything) weakens the position to criticize modern food production.
They are natural chemicals if we think about it. Those mentioned chemicals are those made by man chemicals.
Good addition, all these vitamins you have mentioned have natural sources however most manufacturing companies use the lab made versions... Of course some natural preservatives can be harmful in large quantity too for example too much salt isn't good....too much of these additives generally are bad. Additives are added to improve the food substance like you have stated but they are still chemicals..
This is why you have to know the difference between naturally occurring chemicals and the man made toxic chemicals that Monsanto so kindly introduced to our food chain. We must learn not be afraid of the names of natural chemicals. Learn to know the difference. Knowledge is power. :)