List of food additives permitted in EAEU to be reduced

MINSK. Feb 22 (Interfax) - Changes to the Customs Union's technical regulations on food additives, flavorings and technological aids are coming into force, which will reduce the list of permitted food additives, the press service of the Eurasian Economic Commission said.

The changes, set to take effect February 27, are updates to five sections of the Requirements for the Safety of Food Additives, Flavorings and Technological Aids technical regulations and 29 annexes to it.

"Five new concepts have been introduced, a number of definitions have been updated, while the list of permitted food additives has been reduced from 362 to 349 by eliminating 19 items and introducing six new food additives into circulation," the EEC said.

Meanwhile, the list of flavoring substances for the production of food flavorings has been significantly expanded. For each, the ingredients of the main substance, the scope of their applications and the maximum permissible level of content in food products have been established.

The document was adopted with an eye toward changes made to international and European legislation, and to be in compliance with the regulatory requirements of Union countries and their trading partners.

"The best practices of the food industries of a number of countries were considered in relation to the use of promising enzyme preparations, the list of which was expanded from 56 to 331 items. The scope of their application includes the processing of vegetables and fruits, the production of dairy, meat, fish, alcohol products, bakery products, grain products, coffee, tea and some other goods," the EEC said.

There is a 36-month transition period for the changes to be fully implemented.