New food additives proposed for Codex

The European Community has proposed two new food additives, zinc acetate and hydrogen, to be included in the Codex International Numbering System for Food Additives. Zinc acetate is approved for use in the European Union as a flavour enhancer in chewing gum with an E-number E 650.Hydrogen is approved for use in the European Union as a packaging gas with an E-number E 949. Consequently, the European Community proposes INS number 650 for zinc acetate and INS number 949 for hydrogen. The Codex Alimentarius Commission has adopted at its 24 th Session, Geneva, 2-7 July 2001 the level of 0.02 mg/kg for lead in milk with the footnote "that for dairy products, an appropriate concentration factor should apply"​and the level of 0.1 mg/kg for lead in milk fat (ALINORM 01/41, para.121). The European Community is of the opinion that there is no need for a separate maximum level for butter. With regards to methods of analysis for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs the European Community is currently discussing a set of requirements to be applicable in the European Community and with which the used methods of analysis have to comply. These requirements are subdivided into two different parts: a set of requirements for methods of analysis used for screening purposes (cell-based bioassays and kit-based bioassays, as well as GC/MS, TMS, ) and for confirmatory purposes (HRGC-HRMS). Once finalised, the European Community will submit this set of requirements to the Netherlands. The European Community has also established sampling provisions to control the level of aflatoxin M1 in milk and is in the process of adopting sampling provisions for the control of Ochratoxin A in cereals. Access further details here.​