CODEX COMMITTEE ON FOOD ADDITIVES (CCFA) AND THE CODEX GENERAL STANDARD FOR FOOD ADDITIVES (GSFA) - ANNETTE MCCARTHY, PHD LASHONDA T. CURETON, PHD
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CODEX Committee on Food Additives
(CCFA) and the Codex General Standard
for Food Additives (GSFA)
Annette McCarthy, PhD
LaShonda T. Cureton, PhD
Members of the US Delegation
Codex Committee on Food Additives
IFAC Mid‐Year Meeting
June 15, 2021
Outline
• CCFA Terms of Reference
• What is the GSFA?
• The Structure of the GSFA
• Food Additive Requirements
• Outcome of 51st Meeting
• Agenda of the 52nd Meeting
• Topics of Interests
2Why is CCFA Important?
• Increasingly important for international trade as countries adopt
the General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA), as their national
legislation in whole, or in part
• Food additives currently in international trade have been banned
in some countries if they are not adopted in the GSFA
• Participation helps to open up developing markets
• Developed countries putting more influence on what goes into
the GSFA
3CCFA Terms of Reference
• Establish or endorse acceptable maximum levels for food additives
(General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA), commodity committees)
• Prepare priority lists of food additives for risk assessment by the Joint
FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)
• Assign functional classes to food additives (International Numbering
System (INS))
• Recommend specifications for identity and purity for food additives
for adoption by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)
• Elaborate standards for related subjects (e.g., labeling of food
additives)
4What is the GSFA?
• Main priority of CCFA
• Single authoritative reference point for food additives internationally
• General Principles of the GSFA (Preamble)
– Protect the health of consumers:
• Only lists food additives determined to be safe by JECFA
• Sets criteria for verifying the compatibility of the listed maximum use levels with the
JECFA ADI – considers use in all foods
– Provides criteria for justification of use of food additives:
• Ensure fair practices in food trade:
• Only lists food additives subject to an INS designation
• Sets forth use conditions of additives in all foods
• Identifies foods in which additives may not be used
5What is the GSFA?
GSFA scope
• Deals solely with Food Additives:
– “any substance… the intentional addition of which to food for a
technological purpose… may be reasonably expected to result… in it or
its by‐products becoming a component of or otherwise affecting the
characteristics… of such foods.”
6Requirements for Inclusion in the GSFA
Exposure Assessment
eWorking Groups
(JECFA or Annex A)
JECFA ADI
Technological
Justification GSFA INS Number
Additive Use Level JECFA
Food Category
(CX-Stan., Codex Members) Specifications
System
Monograph
7How does CCFA work?
• Electronic Working Groups (eWGs)
– Inter‐sessional
– Led by Codex Member
– Open to all Codex Members and Observers
• Physical or Virtual Working Groups (pWGs or vWGs)
– Meet immediately prior to or during plenary session
– Led by Codex Member
– Open to all Codex Members and Observers
• Discussion Papers
– Prepared by one or more Codex Members
– Considered at the Plenary
• Plenary Session
8Input from Industry is Vital to the
Success of the GSFA
• Codex Member country delegations are experts on their regulations
• Industry and Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) are experts on
how food additives are used and the technological justification for the
use of those additives.
• Advancement of the justified use of food additives in international
trade is only possible through active involvement of industry and
NGOs in electronic working groups, as well as attendance of NGOs at
physical or virtual working groups and Codex Committee meetings.
9Working Groups for CCFA51 (2019)
• Electronic Working Groups (eWGs)
– GSFA (USA)
– Alignment of food additive provisions in commodity standards and the GSFA (Australia, USA
and Japan)
– International Numbering System (INS) (Belgium and Iran)
– To develop wording for an alternative to Note 161 relating to the use of sweeteners (EU and
USA)
• Physical Working Groups (pWGs)
– GSFA (USA)
– Endorsement/Alignment of Commodity Standards (Australia)
– INS (Belgium)
– Priority List for JECFA (Canada)
• Discussion Papers
– Discussion Paper on use of the terms “plain” and “unprocessed” (Russian Federation)
– Use of Nitrates (INS 251, 252) and Nitrites (INS 249, 250) (EU and Netherlands)
10CCFA51 Highlights ‐ GSFA
10000
9000 As of CCFA52:
8000 Adopted provisions in the GSFA: 4412
7000 Provisions in the step process (Step 2‐Step 7): 1503
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
Pending Provisions Projected
11CCFA51 Highlights ‐ GSFA
• The Committee completed work on 106 draft and proposed draft
provisions
• For the first time in 10 years, CCFA advanced for adoption provisions for
colors without Note 161
– Total adopted color provisions in the GSFA: 1056
• Color provisions remaining in the step process: 924
– Total adopted sweetener provisions in the GSFA: 459
• Sweetener provisions remaining in the step process: 303
12Alternative to Note 161 for the Use of Sweeteners
• Committee agreed to adopt 2 alternative replacement notes;
• Forward to CAC42 for adoption 111 revised provisions for
sweeteners in different food categories, accounting for
approximately 25% of all adopted provisions which contain Note
161; and
• Continue the work on replacing Note 161 by considering
recommendations for replacements notes for additional food
categories
13CCFA51 Highlights ‐ Alignment
• Over 70 provisions forwarded to CAC41 for adoption
– Aligned 23 Commodity Standards, primarily addressing standards for Sugars; Natural
mineral waters; Cereals, pulses and legumes; Vegetable proteins; and Ripened‐
cheese
– Revised adopted provisions in FCs 13.1.1, 13.1.2 and 13.1.3 for ascorbyl palmitate
(INS 304) and ascorbyl stearate (INS 305)
14CCFA51 Highlights – INS and JECFA
INS JECFA
• Endorsed: • The JECFA priority list was
– Methacrylate copolymer, basic ‐ updated to include:
functional class of carrier – 21 food additives and
– Change the name of INS 160a(iv) to – 29 entries for processing aids
β‐carotene‐rich extract from (enzymes)
Dunaliella salina
• Additives removed from the INS
list:
– Distarch glycerol (INS 1411)
– Red 2G (INS 128)
15CCFA51 Highlights – Other Discussions
• Nitrates (INS 251, 252) and Nitrites (INS 249, 250)
– Agreed to issue Circular Letter to collect general information on the availability of
occurrence data and/or dietary exposure of nitrates and nitrites and surveys of
natural occurrence levels and levels occurring from use as additives and
– Agreed to circulate all provisions (adopted and in the step process) to request
ingoing amounts and residual amounts in specific products
• Use of the terms “plain” and “unprocessed”
– Agreed to discontinue the work due to lack of broad support
16CCFA52 (2021)
17CCFA52 Agenda Highlights – Matters Referred
• Provision for the use of trisodium citrate (INS 331(iii)) in FC 01.1.1
“Fluid milk (plain)”
• JECFA (at its 87th meeting (2019)) evaluated the safety of six food
additives, including one group of food additives (carotenoids)
• Framework for developing specifications for steviol glycosides by
method of production
18CCFA52 Agenda Highlights – GSFA
• Specific draft and proposed draft provisions for use as a glaze or in a glaze/coating or wax for
surface treatment in food categories 04.1.1.2 and 04.2.1.2
• Draft and proposed draft provisions for acesulfame potassium (INS 950) in food categories
14.1.4 and 14.1.5 and saccharins (INS 954(i)‐(iv)) in food category 14.1.4 and its subcategories
• Draft and proposed draft provisions with the functional class of color in food category 14.1.4
and its subcategories
• Draft, proposed draft and adopted provisions with the functional class of color (including colors
with Note 161 in food categories 01.0 through 03.0 and their subcategories
• Provisions in the step process for Table 3 additives assigned an ADI not specified at 86th JECFA,
endorsed for consideration by CCFA47 and with sweetener function in food category 14.1.5
• Provisions which CCFA50 added into the Step process or endorsed for recirculation to obtain
technological justification
19CCFA52 Agenda Highlights – Endorsement
• The 29th Session of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and
Vegetables
– 5 standards submitted by CCPFV is included in CL 2021/23‐FA
– Anticipate the food provisions in the commodity standards will be aligned with the
GSFA at CCFA53
20CCFA52 Agenda Highlights – Alignment
• 3 Key issues requiring consideration by the Committee, initially via the
Alignment virtual WG
– Issue 1 – Development of Table 3 Notes
– Issue 2 – Proposed amendments to Codex Standard titles list in Annex C of GSFA
– Issue 3 – Use of general processing aid sentence be added to all cheese commodity
standards, or all dairy standards
• Aligning nearly 30 commodity standards (including dairy standards with
the assistance of IDF)
• Recommendations on the avoiding future divergence between the GSFA
and Commodity Standards
21CCFA52 Agenda Highlights – INS and JECFA
INS JECFA
– Received Eleven (11) – The JECFA priority list was
proposals updated to include:
• International Association of • D‐Allulose 3‐epimerase from
Color Manufacturers (IACM) Arthrobacter globiformis
requests the addition of the expressed in Escherichi coli
color ‘butterfly pea flower • Flavoring substances
extract’
22CCFA52 Agenda Highlights – Note 161
• Continue the work on replacing Note 161 by considering
recommendations for replacements notes for additional food
categories
23CCFA52 Agenda Highlights – Other Discussions
• General information on the occurrence data and/or dietary
exposure of nitrates and nitrites
• Updates to the GSFA online system
24Further Information
GSFA is available at the Codex website:
http://www.fao.org/fao‐who‐codexalimentarius/home/en/
Versions of the full GSFA (including draft and adopted provisions) are made
available as information documents in PDF format prior to each meeting of
the CCFA:
http://www.fao.org/fao‐who‐
codexalimentarius/committees/committee/en/?committee=CCFA
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