Evaluation of Certain Food Additives

This report represents the conclusions of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee convened to evaluate the safety of various food additives, including flavoring agents, with a view to concluding as to safety concerns and to preparing specifications for identity and purity.

The first part of the report contains a general discussion of the principles governing the toxicological evaluation of and assessment of dietary exposure to food additives, including flavoring agents. A summary follows of the Committee's evaluations of technical, toxicological and dietary exposure data for five food additives (magnesium dihydrogen diphosphate; mineral oil (medium and low viscosity) classes II and III; 3-phytase from Aspergillus niger expressed in Aspergillus niger; serine protease (chymotrypsin) from Nocardiopsis prasina expressed in Bacillus licheniformis; and serine protease (trypsin) from Fusarium oxysporum expressed in Fusarium venenatum) and 16 groups of flavouring agents (aliphatic and aromatic amines and amides; aliphatic and aromatic ethers; aliphatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids and related esters, sulfides, disulfides and ethers containing furan substitution; aliphatic linear a,b-unsaturated aldehydes, acids and related alcohols, acetals and esters; amino acids and related substances; epoxides; furfuryl alcohol and related substances; linear and branched-chain aliphatic, unsaturated, unconjugated alcohols, aldehydes, acids and related esters; miscellaneous nitrogen-containing substances; phenol and phenol derivatives; pyrazine derivatives; pyridine, pyrrole and quinoline derivatives; saturated aliphatic acyclic branched-chain primary alcohols, aldehydes and acids; simple aliphatic and aromatic sulfides and thiols; sulfur-containing heterocyclic compounds; and sulfur-substituted furan derivatives).

Specifications for the following food additives were revised: ethyl cellulose, mineral oil (medium viscosity), modified starches and titanium dioxide.

Annexed to the report are tables summarizing the Committee's recommendations for dietary exposures to and toxicological evaluations of the food additives and flavoring agents considered.