General Standards for Food Additives

Beyond national approvals the Codex Alimentarius is developing a General Standard for Food Additives which will be the applicable basis for international trade. All and only sweeteners endorsed for food use by JECFA are/or will be listed in this standard. For bulk sweeteners the standard has progressed to permanent while the part dealing with intense sweeteners is still under discussion. 

FAO, General Standard for Food Additives. (GSFA-online) www.codecsalimentarius.net/gsfaonhne/ additives/index.html (accessed 06.04.2009), 2007. 

Codex Alimentarius Commission (2005) General standard for food additives (CODEX STAN 192-1995 [Rev. 6-2005]). 

CAC, Codex Alimentarius Commission. 2013. Codex General Standard for Food Additives. Rome, Italy World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 

The EU Directives 94/35/EC, 94/36/EC and 95/2/EC on sweeteners, colours and food additives other than colours and sweeteners, limit the amounts of certain food additives that can be used and the range of foods in which they are permitted. Similarly, the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (CCFAC) has published its General Standard on Food Additives (GSFA), which lists the maximum use levels recorded world-wide. Care should be taken when using data from the EU Directive annexes or the GSFA because the figures represent the maximum permitted in each food group. In practice, use levels may need to be much lower to achieve the desired technical effect, particularly if used in combination with other additives intended for the same purpose. Furthermore, the additive is unlikely to be used in all foods in which it is permitted because other additives compete for the same function in the marketplace. 

Codex Alimentarius Commission (2003). Schedule 1 of the Proposed Draft Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food. Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants, Thirty-fifth Session, Arusha, Tanzania. 

In Canada, the current edition of the Food Chemicals Codex, including its supplements, is officially recognized in the Canadian Food and Drug Regulations under Section B.01.045(b) as the reference for specifications for food additives. The new Australia New Zealand Food Authority recognizes the Food Chemicals Codex as a primary source of identity and purity specifications in its Food Standards Code, Chapter 1 General Food Standards, Part 1.3 Substances Added to Food, Standard 1.3.4 Identity and Purity. 

State Standard of the People s Republic of China [GB 7718-94] General Standard for the I abel-hng of Foods. Promulgated on February, 4th, 1994, implemented since February, 1th, 1995 WHO Technical Report Series 859 - Evaluation of Certain Food Additives and Contaminants - 44. Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Commitee on Food Additives (World Health Organisation, Geneva, 1995) ISBN 92-4-120859-7, page 2-3... 

LABELING In addition to Sections 1, 2, 4, and 6 of the General Standard for Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (Ref. NO. CAC/RS 1-1969), the following specific provisions apply ... 

Fine chemicals are generally considered chemicals that are manufactured to high and weU-defined standards of purity, as opposed to heavy chemicals made in large amounts to technical levels of purity. Fine chemicals usually are thought of as being produced on a small scale and the production of some fine chemicals is in tens or hundreds of kilograms per year. The production of others, especially fine chemicals used as dmgs or food additives (qv), is, however, in thousands of metric tons (see Pharmaceuticals). For example, the 1990 U.S. production of aspirin [50-78-2] and acetaminophen [103-90-2] was on the order of 20,500 t and 15,000 t, respectively. 

To further improve the general safety standards, the Delaney Clause was included in the Pood Additives Amendment of 1958. The Delaney Clause states that no food additive or color additive can be deemed safe if it has been found to induce cancer when ingested by humans or animals (23). The Clause acts as an absolute prohibition on the use of any additive found to cause cancer without any regard for whether, or to what extent, the substance is hazardous to human health. As scientific advances continue, both in the realm of food technology and analysis of previously undetected contaminants, the... 

For standard or proprietary polymer additive blends there is the need for analytical certification of the components. Blend technology has been developed for two- to six-component polymer additive blend systems, with certified analytical results [81]. Finally, there exist physical collections of reference additive samples, both public [82] and proprietary. The Dutch Food Inspection Service reference collection comprises 100 of the most important additives used in food contact plastics [83-85]. Reference compounds of a broad range of additives used in commercial plastics and rubber formulations are generally also available from the major additive manufacturers. These additive samples can be used as reference or calibration standards for chromatographic or spectroscopic analysis. DSM Plastics Reference Collection of Additives comprises over 1400 samples. 

The use of antioxidants in food products is governed by regulatory laws of the individual country or by internal standards. Even though many natural and synthetic compounds have antioxidant properties, only a few of them have been accepted as generally recognised as safe (GRAS) substances for use in food products by international bodies such as the Joint FAOAVHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the European Community s Scientific Committee for Food (SCF). 

The standards and limits adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission are intended for formal acceptance by governments in accordance with its general principles. Codex Alimentarius permits only those antioxidants which have been evaluated by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) for use in foods. Antioxidants may be used only in foods standardised by Codex. The antioxidant provisions of Codex Commodity Standards are included in and superseded by the provision of this Standard. Food categories or individual foods where the use of additives are not allowed or are restricted are defined by this Standard. The primary objective of establishing permitted levels of use of antioxidants in various food groups is to ensure that the intake does not exceed the acceptable daily intake (ADI). 

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