The Codex Alimentarius and the European Legislation on Food Additives

Abstract

The aim of this Chapter is to give an overview of International principles concerning food additives with a description of the related European legislation. Basically, the matter of food additives may be discussed on a large-scale level by means of the description of the ‘General Standards for Food Additives’ (Codex Alimentarius Commission), a harmonised, workable and indisputable international standard. On the other hand, the European viewpoint has to be considered: main Regulations concerning food additives have been discussed. The EU Legislation and Codex Alimentarius have very similar regulations about food additives, sometimes using the same definitions. This situation shows a general trend in the international harmonisation of technical legislation in many law fields. However, some difference has to be highlighted, including the legal validity. In fact, Codex Alimentarius documents have established a sort of general principle that has to be adopted by domestic laws to become effective. In contrast, European Union Regulations are legally mandatory for all Member states of the Union after their official publication and national translation.