Abstract
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the evaluation of food additives at the international level through the establishment of an expert committee or committees. These committees evaluated the safety of food additives present as residues resulting from the use of pesticides or veterinary pharmaceuticals. The results of these meetings include international harmonization on acceptable daily intake of these compounds and the maximum residue limit that is permitted to be present within any food of animal or plant origin. The decisions rendered by these committees provide a key element in the elimination of international trade barriers associated with products intended for human consumption.
Keywords: human food safety; international harmonization, maximum residue limit; acceptable daily intake; World Health Organization; Codex Alimentarius; JECFA
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (78.6 KB).
Footnotes
The views expressed are those of the author and should not be considered as representing the views of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives or the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods.
References
- 1.Specifications for the Identity and Purity of Food Additives and Their Toxicological Evaluation: Some Antibiotics. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1969. [Google Scholar]
- 2.Evaluation of Certain Food Additives and Contaminants. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1981. [Google Scholar]
- 3.Evaluation of Certain Food Additives and Contaminants. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1982. [Google Scholar]
- 4.Evaluation of Certain Food Additives and Contaminants. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1983. [Google Scholar]
- 5.Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (Report of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation) Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 1984. [Google Scholar]
- 6.Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Food. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1988. [Google Scholar]
- 7.Principles for the Safety Assessment of Food Additives and Contaminants in Food. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1987. [Google Scholar]
- 8.Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Food. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1989. [Google Scholar]
- 9.Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Food. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2000. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 10.Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Food. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1990. [Google Scholar]
- 11.Evaluation of Certain Verterinary Drug Residues in Food. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1998. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 12.Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Food. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1995. [Google Scholar]
- 13.Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Food. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2001. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 14.Summary of Evaluations Performed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA 1956–2002) (First through fiftyninth meetings) [database online]. Available at: http://jecfa.ilsi.org/. Accessed January 2004.