FOOD AND HEALTH ESSENTIALS

FDA lifts restriction on the use of colour additive in certain foods

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has amended its regulations to permit the use of calcium carbonate as a colour additive for certain foods.

The change is the result of a petition filed with the agency in October 2016. That petition sought to permit the use of food grade calcium carbonate to colour hard and soft candy, mints and chewing gum, consistent the specifications of the 10th edition of the Food Chemicals Codex. A subsequent review by the FDA of the data supplied by the petitioner has determined that the specified use of calcium carbonate as a colouring agent in certain types of foods is safe for human consumption.

Importantly, the FDA’s final rule on the use of calcium carbonate in certain candies does not extend to chocolate or the chocolate portion of candy, since the current standards applicable to chocolate do not permit the addition of colour additives. 

The FDA’s final rule on the use of calcium carbonate as a colour additive in certain foods was published in early November in the Federal Register and takes effect December 8, 2017. The complete text of the rule is available here.