Over the past few decades the European Union (EU) has put in place a robust food safety system that helps to ensure that consumers are protected from possible food-related risks. Despite this, European consumers express concerns about the safety of what they eat.
This includes possible adverse effects of food additives such as colours, preservatives or flavourings; in 2010, the presence of these substances in food was a worry for 66% of Europeans (with 25% ‘very worried’ and 41% ‘fairly worried’). This marks a five point increase on 2005.
All food additives currently used in the EU have been assessed for safety by EFSA and/or its predecessor, the Scientific Committee on Food (SCF), and are only included on the official EU list of approved food additives if they are considered safe for human health. In addition, whenever necessary, previous safety assessments have been reviewed and updated to take into account new scientific information pointing at a possible concern for health.
To bring this process up to date, the European Commission asked EFSA in 2010 to re-evaluate the safety of all previously authorised food additives by 2020, taking into account the latest science. Based on EFSA’s scientific advice, the European Commission and Member States may decide together to change the uses of additives or if needed to remove them from the EU list of authorised food additives in order to protect consumers.
Source: EFSA
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