19/09/2012
What are food additives?
Food additive means any substance not normally consumed as a food by itself and not normally used as a typical ingredient of the food, whether or not it has nutritive value, the intentional
addition of which to food for a technological (including organoleptic) purpose in the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food results, or may be reasonably expected to result (directly or indirectly), in it or its byproducts becoming a component of or otherwise affecting the characteristics of such foods. The
term does not include contaminants or substances added to food for maintaining or improving nutritional qualities.
The use of food additives is justified only when such use has an advantage, does not present an appreciable health risk to consumers, does not mislead the consumer, and serves one or more of the technological functions set out by Codex and the needs set out from (a) through (d) below, and only where these objectives cannot be achieved by other means that are economically and technologically practicable:
a) To preserve the nutritional quality of the food; an intentional reduction in the nutritional quality of a food would be justified in the circumstances dealt with in sub-paragraph (b) and also in
other circumstances where the food does not constitute a significant item in a normal diet;
b) To provide necessary ingredients or constituents for foods manufactured for groups of consumers having special dietary needs;
c) To enhance the keeping quality or stability of a food or to improve its organoleptic properties,
provided that this does not change the nature, substance or quality of the food so as to deceive the consumer;
d) To provide aids in the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, transport or
storage of food, provided that the additive is not used to disguise the effects of the use of faulty
raw materials or of undesirable (including unhygienic) practices or techniques during the course
of any of these activities.