According to the Turkish Food Codex Regulation, food additives are defined as “substances not consumed as a food by themselves, or used as a food ingredient or a raw material; with or without nutritional value; used by choice of technology, which may have residues or derivatives in the final product during processing or manufacturing; and used during the production, sorting, processing, preparation, packaging, transport, or storage of food to preserve, correct, or prevent unwanted changes in the taste, smell, appearance, structure, and other qualities of the food.”
E-Codes
Food additives are numbered with an international system to ensure standardization. The letter E at the beginning of the numbers stands for Europe. These codes help categorize additives into specific rule groups and define exceptions. For example, E284, boric acid, can only be used in caviar. For E252, potassium nitrate, used in processed meat products, an acceptable daily intake amount has been determined. Many E-codes are familiar: E300 is Vitamin C, E101 is Vitamin B2, E948 is oxygen, and E160c is paprika extract.
E-codes are used to regulate the use of additives, not just to list approved ones. The presence of an E-code for a substance does not guarantee that it can be used in all foods. However, the E-codes found on the labels of packaged foods must be for ingredients that are approved for use in those specific foods. In Europe, the authority responsible for these regulations is the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Reliability and Usage Amounts of Additives
Food additives undergo long-term and detailed safety tests in laboratories. The results of these studies are reviewed and approved by international organizations such as the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), the European Union Scientific Committee on Food (SCF), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Only after this approval is it decided which specific foods each additive can be added to and in what amounts.
Food Additives and Their Relationship with Human Health
When used in accordance with the “Turkish Food Codex Regulation,” which is prepared with international standards in mind, food additives do not show harmful effects on health. Consuming foods produced in facilities that have obtained a production permit from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock and adhere to good manufacturing practices provides assurance in this regard.