Page 13 - Analytical method for food addtives

xii Introduction

information on additive levels and usage. This information is needed to monitor
additive levels in foods, changes in dietary behaviour and patterns of additive use,
and to fulfil European Community legislation requirements for Member States to
monitor food intakes. A preliminary European Commission monitoring exercise
carried out in the European Union has identified several additives or additive
groups that require further review by Member States.*
To ensure consumer safety, existing intake estimations and safety monitoring of
additives need refining, and information is required to compare actual levels of
additive use and consumption with safety guidelines (acceptable daily intakes) set
by the EU Scientific Committee on Food. To obtain this information, robust
quantitative methods of analysis are required to measure levels of additives in a
broad range of food matrices, as several additives or groups of additives with
similar functions may coexist within a single food matrix. A variety of published
analytical methods are available in the literature, particularly for artificial food
colours, preservatives and sweeteners. However, the availability of reliable meth-
odology for some of the more analytically complex additives, such as emulsifiers,
natural colours and polysaccharide gums is limited by the inherent compositional
complexity of these substances and the variability of food matrices in which they
occur.
To meet this problem, a review of published analytical methods has been
compiled which seeks to identify those additives for which methods are incom-
plete, i.e. protocols which only cover a limited range of permitted foods, or are
missing. For this exercise, selection of additives for review was based on additive
use in foods (at permitted levels and quantum satis), availability of dietary intake
information and analyte complexity (chemical form). Additives selected were
those where more information is required in terms of additive level and usage to
refine intake estimates. However, information is generally lacking for these
additives because robust methods are not available for analysis due to the complex-
ity of the additive/matrix. Therefore the law cannot be enforced.
The additives listed below have been identified as requiring more information
in terms of their level and usage. The E number and name are given below:
E110 Sunset yellow
E122 Azorubine
E141 Copper complexes of chlorophylls and
chlorophyllins
E150c Caramel class III
E160b Annatto extracts
E200–3 Sorbic acid and its salts
E210–13 Benzoic acid
E220–8 Sulphites
E249–50 Nitrites
E297 Fumaric acid and its salts

* Council of the European Union, Report from the Commission on dietary food additive intake in the
European Union, document DENLEG 47, 2001.