With the hectic lifestyle of people, consumption of Ready-to-eat and packed foods has increased. Demand for processed and instant foods is increasing with various food processing and preparation methods, the influence of social media and advertising, economic changes, and technological innovations. To increase the shelf-life and to provide various promising attributes to foods, additives are highly used in modern food preparations. Presently around 2500 food additives have been invented and used worldwide. Unhealthy modern food habits are a prominent factor for the increased rate of non-communicable diseases, which are a major causative for higher mortality and morbidity rates of people. The prevalence of obesity, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, cancer, and kidney diseases is increasing trend in developing countries. Regulatory bodies recommend the food additives after conducting several safety tests. Although all the additives are not harmful to human health, various health issues associated with some additives have been reported in many instances. This review summarizes the history and categorization of food additives, safety aspects, and the connectivity of food additives with non-communicable diseases in modern society as perceived through the available literature. In summary, this work is focused on the most commonly used food additives nowadays with their adverse impacts on human health.