Food labeling, color additives

Food additives (like color additives) can be added at various processing stages, but the additions are commonly made at the latest production stage before final marketing to ensure optimal functionality of the additive in the product as sold. Residues of additives used at earlier production stages may be present still in the final formulation. However, if they do not have further functions at that stage, they are considered process aids (to help preparation but without technological effects in the finished product) and are not indicated on labels. Some additives also decompose over time so that the levels present at the end of shelf life may be quite low. Several techniques and information sources can be used to assess contamination levels of chemicals ... 

Data concerning use patterns of food additives and color additives are difficult to obtain. Although additives must be included on product labels in descending order of inclusion, major effort is required to evaluate even a simple presence on this basis, which would provide at best only limited information on the amounts used. In most cases, quantitative analytical controls are limited to efforts by control authorities to determine compliance with legal limits. Levels below these limits are of limited interest and are usually not published. ... 

US legislation on food additives consists of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD C Act), the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, and other applicable laws including the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act. The FD C Act states that foods are adulterated if they contain color additives that have not been approved as safe to the satisfaction of the Food Drug Administration (FDA) for a particular use. ... 

Additional regulations that provide specific requirements for color additives in foods are found in other parts of the CFR. Labeling of food products is found at 21 CFR 101.22(k). Color additives are sometimes called artificial colors or artificial colorings [21 CFR 101.22(a) (4)]. From a regulatory standpoint, a colorant is a dye or pigment used in a food contact material such as a polymer that does not migrate to food. Such materials are regulated as food additives [21 CFR 178.3297(a)], not as color additives. ... 

The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 provided definitions for cosmetics and drugs and prohibited interstate commerce for cosmetics that are adultered or misbranded. By definition, adultered means that the product contains a poisonous or deleterious substance, a nonpermitted color additive, or a filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance or that it was manufactured or held under nonsanitary conditions. Misbranded means that it contains false labeling, does not contain the required labeling, or is not truthfully packaged. 

In the US, a request to authorize a new food additive is presented to the FDA. A petition for an additive or a colorant must include data pertaining to the toxicity of the additive accompanied by toxicological tests on animals and even on humans. To evaluate whether an additive should be approved, the agency first considers the composition and attributes of the substance, the probable amount that will be ingested, the possible long-term effects on consumers and various additional safety factors. If the additive is approved, the FDA publishes regulations that may include the types of foods in which it can be used, the maximum quantities that can be added, and how it should be identified in the food labels. 

Any food, food additive, color additive, drug, cosmetic, or medical or veterinary device labeled under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act. 

Color Colorants used in dentifrices are regulated by the Food and Dmg Administration. They are FD C (food, drug, and cosmetic) or D C (drug and cosmetic). The FDA lists new color additives in the Code of Federal Regulations. A certification program for batches of color additives is conducted before a color additive can be used. The FDA also monitors product labeling (6). Colors are also regulated in other countries In the European... 

FDA—Food and Dmg Administration, 1995. FDA—Food and Drug Administration, 1999, FDA Response to CTFA Request Regarding the Use of Abbreviated Labeling for Declaring Certified Color Additives in Cosmetics. ... 

Since food colorants are used as food additives, they must also comply with legislative requirements. Food legislation in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) differs with regard to additives and labeling. Therefore, this section provides an overview of legislation in the EU (Section 7.1.6.1) and the US (Section 7.1.6.2) and discusses colorants permitted for use in food products according to the different requirements. 

The amendment removed labeling exemptions for allergens in spices, flavorings, colors, and food additives, and also requiring all packaged foods to declare the major food allergens or their protein derivatives. In the United States, the major food allergens include ... 

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