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Once the safety of an additive has been established, the European Commission can initiate the necessary legislation for a
specification for the additive, and for its authorisation in food (a process called food approval).
A specification is necessary to ensure that the additive being sold has the same composition and purity as the product that was
tested and evaluated. Specifications are agreed by member state technical experts, under the Chairmanship of the Commission.
The legislative process for food approval is complex. It starts with a proposal from the Commission, but the final decision is
taken jointly by national governments in the Council of Ministers and MEPs in the European Parliament. The end result is an EC
directive, which lists the foods in which the additive is to be allowed and its levels of use. An EC directive is, in effect,
an instruction to member states to bring their national legislation into line with what they signed up to at EC level.
Only at this stage in the process is the additive given an E number, ie only after it has been cleared for safety and its
approved uses in food published in an EC directive. The infamous E number is in fact, and contrary to popular belief, a guarantee
of safety and purity.
There are three additives directives: on colours, sweeteners and the remaining 'miscellaneous additives', all of which have been
implemented at national level. The text of these directives, including a listing of EC-approved additives, can be found on the
European Commission's Health and Consumer Protection website. Note: Flavourings have their own legal definition and are regulated
differently from additives - for further details see the same website.
A total of 311 additives are now approved for use in food across the EU (43 colours, 12 sweeteners and 256 miscellaneous additives).
To give a practical instance of what this entails, in October 2000 an application was made to the Commission for two new intense
sweeteners, aspartame/acesulfame salt and sucralose. In June 2002 the Scientific Committee on Food had completed its review of the
safety data and pronounced them both safe for use. The legislative process to amend the sweeteners directive to include the new
sweeteners could then begin. But proposed changes in the uses of some of the already approved sweeteners were also part of the
legislative package, and this further complicated and prolonged discussion in the European Parliament and in the Council of Ministers.
As a result, agreement on the directive authorising the two new sweeteners was delayed until December 2003
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