Which category includes chemicals intentionally added to food for a specific purpose?

The correct answer focuses on direct food additives, which are substances added to food intentionally to achieve specific functional purposes, such as preservation, flavor enhancement, color, or texture improvement. These additives are typically recognized and regulated by food safety authorities due to their intended role in food products.

Understanding direct food additives is essential for ensuring food safety and compliance with regulations. While other categories like pesticide chemicals might involve substances that are used to protect crops from pests, and contaminants refer to undesired substances that can pollute food unintentionally, they do not involve intentional addition for a specific, beneficial purpose in food products. Unrestricted additives may refer to substances that do not require labeling, but they still differ from direct food additives in terms of their designation and intended use in the food industry.