CONSIDERATION OF THE CODEX GENERAL STANDARD FOR FOOD ADDITIVES (Agenda Item 7)
43. The 32nd Session of the CCFAC decided to reconvene the ad hoc Working Group on the Codex General Standard for Food Additives prior to its 33rd Session under the Chairmanship of the United States[12]. The ad hoc Working Group was chaired by Dr. D. Keefe (USA) and Mrs. Fabech (DK) and Mr. N. Kildemark (DK) acted as rapporteur and co-rapporteur, respectively. The Committee expressed its gratitude to Dr. A.Rulis for his guidance and past leadership of the Working Group on the Codex General Standard on Food Additives.
44. The Chairman of the Working Group briefly summarised its discussions and proposed several general recommendations to the Committee, as follows:
Additives With an Acceptable Daily Intake of “Not Specified” (Table 3 of the GSFA)
45. The Committee recalled that at its 32nd Session it agreed to circulate proposed draft amendments to Table 3 (Additives with an Acceptable Daily Intake of “Not Specified”) for comments at Step 3 of the Accelerated Procedure, subject to confirmation by the 47th Session of the Executive Committee[13]. The 47th Session of the Executive Committee approved the amendments to Table 3 of the GSFA under the accelerated procedure[14]. Comments submitted in response to CL 2000/10-FAC on the proposed draft amendments to Table 3 were reproduced under documents CX/FAC 01/8 and Conference Room Documents 5 and 14.
46. The JECFA Secretariat informed the Committee that the temporary ADI of “Not Specified” for Gamma Cyclodextrin (INS 458) was revised by the 53rd meeting of JECFA to a full ADI of “Not Specified”. The Committee agreed to forward the following substances with full JECFA ADI’s of “Not Specified” to the 24th Session of the Commission for final adoption at Step 5 of the Accelerated Procedure as amendments to Table 3 of the GSFA:
47. The Committee also agreed to forward the following substances with temporary JECFA ADI’s of “Not Specified” to the 24th Session of the Commission for final adoption at Step 5 of the Accelerated Procedure as amendments to Table 3 of the GSFA, with the understanding that these substances would not be incorporated into Table 3 unless they were assigned full ADIs of “Not Specified” at the 57th Meeting of JECFA:
48. Amendments to Table 3 of the GSFA forwarded to the Commission for final adoption at Step 5 of the Accelerated Procedure are attached to this report at Appendix V.
Food Categories or Individual Food Items Excluded from the General Conditions of Table 3 (Annex to Table 3 of the GSFA)
49. The Committee was informed that proposals for the use of additives in Table 3 in the food categories listed in the Annex to Table 3 were requested under CL 2000/33-FAC. The Committee agreed with the recommendations (Appendix 2 of CRD 1) of the WG concerning revisions to the Annex to Table 3 of the GSFA. The Committee noted that as a result of this decision, the provisions for the Table 3 additives listed in Tables 1 and 2 should be revised accordingly.
50. The Committee forwarded the amendments to the Annex to Table 3 to the Commission for adoption at Step 5/8. The revised Annex to Table 3 is attached to this report at Appendix VI.
Quality Control Group for the General Standard for Food Additives
51. The Committee agreed with the recommendation of the WG that the food additive provisions for nitrates, nitrites and phosphates be amended in the next revision of the draft GSFA to take account of the recommendations of the GSFA Quality Control Group to correct systemic errors in the reporting basis to be consistent with the JECFA ADI reporting basis. Australia noted that the proposed levels for phosphates in wine may be unnecessarily restrictive, and would provide data to amend the proposed levels.
52. The Committee also agreed with the recommendation of the Working Group that the remaining prioritized additives (Category V), as well as Benzoates, BHA, BHT, Sulphites and TBHQ (Appendix 5 to CRD 1), be discussed at its next meeting and in this regard, that the recommendations of the Quality Control Group and a summary of the source data for these additives be circulated with the next revision of the draft GSFA.
53. The Committee agreed with the recommendation of the Working Group that the informal GSFA Quality Control Group (Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, South Africa, United States, EC) be reinstated and that it review the source data on benzoyl peroxide, stearyl tartrate, nitrous oxide and mineral oil with a view to clarifying their proposed uses.
General Comments
54. New Zealand expressed the view about the need to apply exposure assessment methodology to assure that additive intakes do not exceed the ADI. The Delegation of Sweden, speaking on behalf of the Member States of the EU, supported by other delegations, Switzerland and the observer of Consumers International, was of the opinion that food additive use in general should be kept to a minimum and that the levels should be as low as technologically necessary. It was also suggested that food additives should not be allowed in basic fresh foods and unprocessed foods, and that additive use in infant formula and weaning foods should be restricted.
Future Status of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Codex General Standard for Food Additives
55. The Committee decided to reconvene the ad hoc Working Group on the Codex General Standard for Food Additives prior to its next Session under the chairmanship of the United States and expressed its appreciation to the Working Group and its Chairman, Dr. D. Keefe, for their diligent work. The Committee also conveyed its special thanks to Mrs. B. Fabech, who provided exceptional services as rapporteur to the WG over the years.
