This document contains food additive specification monographs, analytical methods, and other information prepared at the ninetyseventh meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), which was held in Rome from 31 October to 9 November 2023. The specification monographs provide information on the identity and purity of food additives used directly in foods or in food production. The main three objectives of these specifications are to identify the food additive that has been subjected to testing for safety, to ensure that the additives are of the quality required for use in food or in processing and to reflect and encourage good manufacturing practice. This publication and other documents produced by JECFA contain information that is...

The present meeting was the ninety-eighth in a series of similar meetings and the twenty-fifth JECFA meeting convened specifically to consider residues of veterinary drugs in food. The tasks before the Committee were to further elaborate principles for evaluating the safety of residues of veterinary drugs in food; to establish acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) and acute reference doses (ARfDs); to recommend maximum residue limits (MRLs) for such residues when the drugs under consideration are administered to food-producing animals in accordance with good practice in the use of veterinary drugs; to evaluate the safety of residues of certain veterinary drugs; and to respond to specific requests from the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF).

The Expert Committee reviewed the scientific literature published since the 2008 JEMRA report on foodborne viruses, relative to control measures to protect the food supply chain from contamination with foodborne viruses. The virus-commodity pairs chosen were those identified in Part 1 (Food Attribution, Analytical Methods and Indicators) of this series of expert meetings. Specifically, during this Part 2 meeting, the Expert Committee: 1) reviewed the relevant scientific literature; 2) deliberated on the developments that have occurred in control of foodborne viruses in the relevant food supply chains since the 2008 JEMRA report; and 3) identified the most promising approaches to further protect the food supply chain from virus contamination.  The Expert Committee decided that water intended for drinking was not within...

To enhance the resilience of food systems to food safety risks, it is vitally impor­tant for national authorities and international organizations to be able to identify emerging food safety risks and to provide early warning signals in a timely man­ner. This review provides an overview of existing and experimental applications of artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and internet of things as part of early warning and emerging risk identification tools and methods in the food safety domain. There is an ongoing rapid development of systems fed by numerous, real-time, and diverse data with the aim of early warning and identification of emerging food safety risks. The suitability of big data and AI to support such systems is illustrated by two...

The Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) requested scientific advice as to whether certain foods and ingredients, such as highly refined foods and ingredients, that are derived from the list of foods known to cause hypersensitivity can be exempted from mandatory declaration. The objective of this fourth meeting was to expand on the recommendations from the first meeting concerning derivatives of food allergens and establish a framework for evaluating exemptions for food allergens. A pro forma process has been developed and tested against allergen derivatives previously granted exemptions in various countries or regions and found to be effective for consideration in future exemption decisions. The Expert Committee recommends that the process outlined in the pro forma process be used to...

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) (CAS number 13463-67-7, INS 171, molecular weight 79.87) is a white insoluble crystalline powder with a high refractive index. It is used as a colour in various food categories to make food visually appealing and/or to restore the original appearance of food. In the European Union (EU), the food additive E171 refers to food-grade TiO2. INS 171 and E171 are equivalent except that INS 171 does not include the TiO2 coating of pearlescent pigments (INS 176).

Early warning systems have a critical role in the reduction of risks from various hazards. The capability and capacity to identify early signals and emerging food safety risks, and to provide on-time early warning that would allow for the mitigation of related upcoming risks is vital for national and international authorities and organizations dealing with food safety. With the rapid development of modern systems fed by numerous, real-time and diverse data, as well as the advancements achieved in artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, increasingly tested and validated digital methods and models have become available for food safety early warning and analysis, allowing to support the shift from reactive towards proactive systems. This technical background enhances the awareness of the...

In response to a request from the 52nd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) convened this meeting, to collate and assess the most recent scientific information relating to the control of non-typhoidal (NT)-Salmonella spp. in chicken meat. The assessment included a review of the Codex Guidelines for the Control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in Chicken Meat (CXG 78-2011). The Campylobacter will be reviewd by another meeting.     The expert consultation noted that no single control measure was sufficiently effective in reducing either the prevalence or the level of contamination of broilers and poultry meat with NT-Salmonella spp. Instead, it was emphasized that control strategies based on multiple...

Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet and are protective against many chronic health conditions. Yet, fresh fruits and vegetables have been consistently implicated in food safety incidents involving microbiological hazards around the globe for decades. In response to requests of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene concerning microbiological hazards in fresh fruits and vegetables and to update and expand the information available in Microbiological hazards in fresh leafy vegetables and herbs (MRA14), which was published in 2008, FAO and WHO convened a series of expert meetings in 2021 to 2022. The purpose of the meetings was to collect, review and discuss relevant measures to control microbiological hazards from primary production to point of sale...

Managing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant challenge to the world. International Codex Alimentarius standards, guidelines, and codes of practice (Codex texts) have been developed to assist countries in controlling foodborne AMR, and the "Action to support implementation of Codex AMR texts (ACT)" project is supporting these efforts in Pakistan. This fact sheet presents the landscape of antimicrobial resistance and use, strengths and opportunities to control AMR in Pakistan. It highlights the role of the ACT project and the expected results.