Safety Evaluation and Management of Food Additives by FAO/WHO

Safety and management of additives used in food have become important issues of public, and administrative concern. The most important thing to say is that the use of food additives should be controlled by law. An extensive evaluation on the safety of new additives must be carried out before they are allowed to use in food. This paper discusses the safety evaluation and management system for food additives adopted by the FAO/WHO Codex committees, introduces the internationally standards, guidelines, codes and recommendations established by the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme with the purpose of protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in the world food trade. The conclusion is that these international standards and codes have become the global reference for national food control agencies in performing their food additive supervision and management responsibilities on behalf of the consumers.