General Standard for Food Additives GSFA

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

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. 

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