Category: European Food Safety Authority
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EFSA to Hold Workshop on Re-Evaluation of Food Additives
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will host a workshop on April 28, 2014, in Brussels, to discuss the agency’s work related to the re-evaluation of food additives, as required by Commission Regulation No. 257/2010 of the European Parliament and the Council on Food Additives. With an aim to “engage with interested business operators, scientific…
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EFSA Seeks Data on Food Additives
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a call for data from member states and other stakeholders on a third batch of food additives, including tertiary-butyl hydroquinone, agar, carrageenan, and xanthan gum, used in food and beverages. The action follows Commission Regulation No. 257/2010 of the European Parliament and the Council on Food Additives,…
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EFSA Requests Brominated Flame Retardant Monitoring
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has asked member states “to monitor the presence of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in food over the next two years.” In light of six scientific opinions published by the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain between September 2010 and September 2012, EFSA has requested additional information on…
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EFSA Lowers Exposure Limits for Inorganic Arsenic
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has updated its analysis of the occurrence of arsenic in food in Europe, setting lower estimates of dietary exposure to inorganic arsenic than the agency reported in 2009. The analysis includes nearly 3,000 data samples of inorganic arsenic, evidently more toxic than organic compounds, and EFSA reports that the…
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EFSA Issues Opinion on Vitamin D for Bones and Teeth
Following an application to claim that vitamin D is important to normal bone and teeth development in infants and children, the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies has issued an opinion affirming that vitamin D contributes to normal development of bones and teeth. The panel noted previous favorable assessments of…
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EFSA Announces Follow-Up Meeting on BPA
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced an April 23, 2014, scientific meeting to discuss its draft opinion on the human health risks of bisphenol A (BPA) for consumers. Developed by the EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF), the draft opinion also includes a re-evaluation of the tolerable…
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EFSA Rejects Caffeine and Sterol Claims
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) has issued an opinion reiterating a previous conclusion that products with less than 75 mg of caffeine may not bear an increased alertness claim, because most studies found “no effect of caffeine doses of less than 75 mg on various cognitive tasks (simple…
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EFSA Issues Opinion on Formaldehyde in Animal Feed
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) has issued an opinion on formaldehyde, currently used as a feed additive and a preservative for skimmed milk intended for pigs. Concluding that “although there is no health risk for consumers exposed to the substance through the…