Additives

ifp Institut für Produktqualität offers service testing of food additive as well as labelling and regulatory consulting. For more information on food additives see the following pages:

• Colours
• Preservatives
• Sweeteners

Additives in the food industry

Foodstuff additives are substances with or without nutritional value, which are generally neither consumed themselves as foods, nor used as a characteristic food ingredient, but which are added to a food for technical reasons. They are added during manufacturing, processing and preparation, whereby they themselves or their byproducts directly or indirectly become or can become a component of a food.

Additives are used in foodstuffs for many different reasons, for example in order to increase food safety by protecting it against spoilage, or to ensure consistent quality or stability.

The following are not classified as additives:

• Flavourings
• Substances for coating agents and wrappings, which are not consumed with the foodstuff
• Processing aids (with no technical effect on the end product)
• Enzymes
• etc.

Legal principles

European Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008, which lays down the basic regulations for food additives, has been in force since 20 January 2010. Appendix II of the abovementioned regulation contains the EU list of the additives approved for use in foodstuffs, with the conditions for their use.

Approximately 320 additives have been approved in the EU. At European level, the additives are subject to the stringent scientific safety assessments by the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority). Scientific advice and support is provided by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, BfR) in Berlin. In addition, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) undertakes safety assessments at international level.

Only those additives which have been tested and considered technically necessary by the EU Commission receive the legally-required approval and an E number.

For reasons of preventative consumer protection, additives are approved in accordance with the principle of ‘prohibited unless granted permission’. This means that an additive may only be approved if it has unambiguously been determined non-hazardous to health in advance. 

The use of food additives is only legally compliant if they have been approved for the respective intended purpose. Within the scope of the European Union approval procedure, it must be verified that:

• The substance has been tested to ensure that it is non-hazardous to health
• The use of the substance is technically necessary
• The use of additives does not cause consumers to be misled
• The substance complies with the EU-wide, bindingly determined purity specifications.¹

Labelling

Additives in prepackaged foodstuffs must be labelled in compliance with the Food Information Regulation (FIR Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011) with details of the function classes, followed by their specific designation or the E number in the list of ingredients. The ‘E’ stands for ‘Edible’ or also for ‘Europe’. The function classes are listed in Appendix I of the (EC) Regulation No. 1333/2008, and represent additives which have been classified into groups depending on their technical function in foodstuffs.²

Example for the labelling of the additive cyclamate:

• Function class: Sweeteners
• Designation: Cyclamate
• E number: E 952
• Information in list of ingredients: Sweetener cyclamate or Sweetener E 952

With bulk goods or foods for communal catering, the gastronomy sector, etc., the national Additive Approval Ordinance (Zusatzstoffzulassungsverordnung, ZZulV) still applies.

Sources:
¹ https://www.bvl.bund.de/DE/01_Food/04_ApplicantCompany/04_Additives/ln_Additives_Approval_node.html
² https://www.vis.bayern.de/ernaehrung/lebensmittelsicherheit/kennzeichnung/zusatzstoffe_allg.htm

Preservative

Preservatives are substances that serve above all to make foodstuffs keep longer. These substances hamper the growth of microorganisms and/or protect food from pathogenic microorganisms, hence extending its shelf life. Most preservatives are subject to regulations concerning their use and quantities used. Preservatives are used in a large variety of foods – yet only if their use has been proved to be technologically necessary. Preservatives are found in (among other products):

• bakery products
• dried fruit
• fruit juices
• lemonades

Since June 1st, 2013 the use of preservatives has been regulated by Annex II Part B No. 3 of Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 on additives. Annex II Part B No. 3 lists all the currently approved preservatives. Whether the respective preservative is subject to quantitative restrictions depends on the food category the food is assigned to that the substance is used in.

At ifp Institut für Produktqualität preservatives are determined by means of HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography).

Colours

Food colours, or colours for short, are additives for imparting colour to foodstuffs.

Visual perception plays a major role in consumers’ acceptance or rejection of food products. During the production, packaging or sale of foodstuffs, colour changes may occur which adversely influence the consumer’s decision to purchase. Here colours are used to preserve the food’s appearance. Furthermore, foods can be made to look more visually appealing through the use of colours, which can also enhance the appearance of bland-looking foodstuffs.

Hence, one use of colours is to promote sales in the food industry. However, some foodstuffs such as chocolate and dried fruit¹ may not be enhanced with colours due to legal standards.

 Additives and colours are approved by the European Commission in accordance with a stringent scientific safety assessment. The 40 food colours currently approved are listed in Appendix II Part B No. 1 of the (EC) Regulation No. 1333/2008.²

Special case: Azo dyes

Azo dyes are synthetic food colours. Except for a few exceptions (six substances, see below), azo dyes have been classified as carcinogenic. ³ They can therefore damage health, hence the use of these colours has been prohibited. In some countries, however, the azo dyes which are prohibited in the EU, such as Sudan dyes, are used to intensify the colour of paprika powder or to level out light- or age-related colour losses.

 Azo dyes permitted in the EU with warning

When using the following colours, the warning ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ must be included on the label:

• Tartrazine (E 102)
• Quinoline yellow (E 104)
• Sunset yellow FCF (E 110)
• Azorubine (E 122)
• Cochineal red A (E 124)
• Allura red AC (E 129)

Analytics

At the ifp Institute for Product Quality, our highly-experienced experts test the addition of colours using HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography).

Sources:
¹ https://www.lebensmittellexikon.de/f0001030.php
² https://www.efsa.europa.eu/de/topics/topic/food-colours
³ https://www.lgl.bayern.de/lebensmittel/warengruppen/wc_57_zusatzstoffe/et_azofarbstoffe.htm

eans of HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography).