Hansard

Thank you. As this is the first opportunity that we have had to explain what is going on with additives and directives, we thought that it might be helpful to give members a couple of minutes of background information on the processes and their history.It all goes back a long time—to 1988, when the framework directive 89/107/EEC on additives was adopted. That framework directive provides for the adoption of specific directives to harmonise the use of different categories of additives in foodstuffs. There are three specific directives: one covering miscellaneous additives in food, one covering colours and one covering sweeteners. They were adopted in 1994 and 1995. Since then, all mechanisms and instruments relating to the use of additives in food have been the same in all member states. That is part of the single market—such a structure guarantees the free movement of foodstuffs, ensures a high level of consumer protection, and offers the consumer greater freedom of choice between different foodstuffs.Directive 95/2/EC on food additives other than colours and sweeteners was adopted in 1995. It is based on the principle of a positive list—in the annexes to the directive, there is a list of food additives together with a list of the foodstuffs in which the additives may be used. The conditions of their use are also given. All food additives that are not included in the list are prohibited for use in food within the European Community.Once the period for transposing the directives has expired, member states will not be able to use new additives—except, during a limited period of two years, for new additives that are not included in the positive lists. Neither will member states be able to amend the rules that govern the use of additives on their own initiative. That means that there is a two-year period when national rules can apply. After that period, all those approvals will lapse unless approved by the Community. There is therefore a two-year period during which the United Kingdom can nominate new additives for our use in this country.The European Commission's proposals are based on the principle of complete harmonisation at Community level, which is described in the framework directive on food additives. Uniform rules are needed because additives have an impact on public health. There must be a high degree of transparency between the member states to establish a reasonable level of safety and to allow trade in foodstuffs within the Community.I want to talk about the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 1995. Those Great Britain regulations were required to implement directive 95/2/EC. They were made under the Food Safety Act 1990 and came into force on 1 January 1996. Again, to follow the framework directive, they provide a list of authorised food additives together with a list of the foodstuffs in which they may be used and the conditions for their use—for example, the maximum quantities of additive allowed per gram or per litre of foodstuff.Following those 1995 regulations, two new directives were adopted to allow for technical developments in the field of food additives. The new directives were to cover cases in which additives that had already been authorised were used in new categories of food that were not included in the original directive. They allowed for an amendment to cover those developments. They also took into account the fact that certain food manufacturers in new member states were not included in the original directive. Certain additives were being used in those member states. All the work takes account of advice from the scientific committee on food, which looks at additives on a European level and gives an opinion on their safety. The Miscellaneous Food Additives (Amendment) Regulations 1997, which came into force on 1 July 1997, implemented the requirements of the previous directives. The first directive, 95/85/EC, authorised the use of a new additive, processed eucheuma/seaweed—E 407a. The second, 96/77/EC, laid down specific purity criteria for certain permitted additives, mainly preservatives and antioxidants. In addition, those amending regulations authorised a variation to the two-year national authorisation to permit certain hydrocarbon propellants—propane, butane and isobutane—to be used in an additional food category, water-based emulsion sprays, in Britain until December 1997. Those proposals were accepted by the Food Advisory Committee and cleared by the appropriate safety bodies as safe in relation to any fire hazard. The Food Advisory Committee advises the Government on the use of additives in food, while the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment looks at the toxicological consequences of such additives. The gases were permitted for use only until December 1997, in garlic oil sprays and in the professional use of vegetable oil pan sprays. The regulations amended the Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (Scotland) Regulations 1977 to reflect an EC prohibition on the simultaneous additions of acids and sugars in fruit juices. The Miscellaneous Food Additives (Amendment) Regulations 1999, which further amended the 1995 regulations, came into force on 28 May 1999. Those regulations added flour treatment agents to the list of miscellaneous additives, placed restrictions on the use of additives in plain, pasteurised cream, reduced the level of sulphur dioxide in certain sugars, allowed four new additives to be permitted in the lists, provided for additional uses of additives in foods, added a number of new substances to a list of permitted carriers and solvents and provided for additional uses of certain additives in specified food for infants and young children, including foods for special medical purposes.In addition to the additives regulations, there are the Colours in Food Regulations 1995, the Sweeteners in Food Regulations 1995, the Sweeteners in Food (Amendment) Regulations 1997 and the Sweeteners in Food (Amendment) Regulations 1999. Those regulations refer to colours and sweeteners in food, but they do not relate to the proposal before the committee today.Council Directive 95/2/EC, which harmonised the use of food additives other than colours and sweeteners throughout the Community, has been amended twice and lists the authorised additives, the foods that may be used and the conditions of use. Food additives that are not listed are prohibited. The Commission proposal before the committee would permit the following nationally authorised additives to be used at Community level: ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, butane, isobutane and propane. The proposal takes account of the views of the scientific committee on food, which recently evaluated hydrogen for use in food and found its use as a packaging gas toxicologically acceptable. The committee considered unnecessary the establishment of an acceptable daily intake level of hydrogen. The proposal would permit some authorised food additives—sodium algenate, glycerol esters of wood rosin and zinc acetate—to be used in certain new applications and would allocate an E number to the authorised additive propan-1, 2-diol—propylene glycol. That gives committee members a background of the controls at British and European levels. I am happy to take questions on specific additives and additives in general.