Additives are added to food for technological reasons during production, processing, packaging or storage. For example, they are used to sweeten foods, to color them or to extend their shelf life. Additives are, for example, preservatives such as sorbic acid, colorants such as true carmine or brilliant blue FCF, sweeteners such as saccharin or xylitol.

Additives for use in food additives, enzymes and flavourings are divided into classes according to their main function in the food:

• Antioxidants
• raising agents
• emulsifiers
• colouring agents
• firming agents
• Humectants
• fillers
• gelling agents
• flavour enhancers
• Complexing agents
• Preservatives
• Contrast enhancers
• Flour treatment agents
• Modified starches
• Packing gases
• Acidulants
• Acidity regulators
• Foaming agents
• Antifoam agents
• Melting salts
• stabilisers
• sweeteners
• propellants
• Release agents
• Coating agents
• Thickening agents

Database of authorised food additives of the European Commission

For food additives to be approved throughout the EU, they must meet three conditions: they must be harmless to health and technologically necessary, and their use must not mislead consumers. Whether a food contains a technologically active additive is indicated in the list of ingredients in packaged foods. The quantities used are limited by maximum levels. These must be as low as possible, but high enough to still fulfill their function. In addition, the maximum levels take into account how much of a food is eaten on average in order to prevent possible health risks.

Flavors and food ingredients with flavoring properties are added to foods in small quantities to give them a special smell or taste (e.g. strawberry flavor). Flavorings also play an important role in nutrition, as they can be used to significantly influence dietary behavior. Natural flavorings are based on plants, animals or microbiological raw materials. They are obtained by suitable physical (e.g. extraction and distillation), enzymatic or microbiological processes. Flavors used in foods must be safe for health and must not mislead consumers. The conditions for their production, safety, use and labeling are regulated throughout the EU. The EU-wide permitted flavoring substances, currently around 2,500, can be found in Annex 1 of Regulation (EC) No. 1334/2008.

Smoke flavorings

Smoking or smoking is a traditional process for preserving foods such as fish, meat and dairy products. It also changes the flavor of food. As an alternative to conventional smoking, so-called smoke flavorings are added to various foods to give them the typical "smoked" flavor - including foods such as soups, sauces, snacks or baked goods that are not traditionally smoked.

To obtain smoke flavor, certain woods are burned under controlled conditions (temperature, air supply, etc.). The chemical composition of smoke is complex and depends, among other things, on the type of wood used, the smoke production process, the water content of the wood, and the temperature and oxygen concentration during smoke production. The smoke is introduced into water, fractionated and purified. Smoke flavorings are produced from the "primary smoke condensates" and "primary tar fractions" thus obtained. These are either incorporated directly into foodstuffs or applied to the surface by dipping or spraying. Limits are set for undesirable substances (e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzo[a]pyrene).

Natural aroma

"Natural flavoring," "Natural flavoring substances," "Natural strawberry flavoring with other natural flavors": these and similar sales descriptions can be found in the list of ingredients of many foods. The term "natural" may only be used to describe a flavoring if the flavoring ingredient contains only flavoring extracts and/or natural flavoring substances.

There are a large number of products with the flavor claim "natural" that have the indication of a food (e.g., cheese) of a food category (e.g., spices) or a plant flavor carrier (strawberry) or animal flavor carrier (chicken) in the sales description of the flavor. The term "natural" may be used in conjunction with these claims only if the flavor component is derived exclusively or at least 95% by weight (wt%) from the source material referenced. A "natural strawberry flavor" must therefore be at least 95% derived from strawberries and the remainder must also be derived from natural sources. If the strawberry flavor is easily recognizable, but less than 95% by weight is derived from strawberries and the flavor otherwise consists of other natural flavors, the term "natural strawberry flavor with other natural flavors" should be used.

If the term "strawberry flavor" is used without the indication "natural," this is sometimes only a descriptive term of a strawberry-flavored flavor. It can therefore not be concluded from the indication "strawberry flavor" in the list of ingredients that the flavor of the food comes from the strawberry.

If the term "natural flavor" is used, this is an indication that the flavor consists of flavor extracts and/or natural flavoring substances derived from different source materials and that naming the source materials would not accurately describe the flavor.

Food colorants are contained in many foods. They are used to compensate for color losses (due to light, air, moisture and temperature fluctuations), to intensify naturally occurring colors and to color colorless or differently colored foods. All additives, including a total of 45 colorants approved in Austria and the other EU member states, must be harmless to health. Therefore, they must be approved for use in the European Union (EU) and are subject to a strict scientific safety assessment (see Legal basis).

Azo dyes

Like other food additives, azo dyes can be used in a range of foods, including soft drinks, baked goods, desserts, sauces, seasonings and confectionery.

Sweeteners are used to give food a sweet taste. Sweeteners are substances regulated by the EU and must undergo a safety assessment before being approved. Sweeteners used in a food must be indicated on the list of ingredients on the packaging.

Steviol glycosides

Steviol glycosides are plant ingredients obtained by extraction and purification from the leaves of the subtropical plant Stevia rebaudiana. The sweetening power is around 40 to 300 times stronger than that of sugar. Steviol glycosides produce a long-lasting sweet taste, which is, however, accompanied by bitter and licorice-like secondary notes. During cooking and baking processes, a decrease in sweetening power can be observed due to cleavage of the aforementioned sweeteners.

In Austria, flavored beverages sweetened with steviol glycosides, flavored fermented dairy products and seasoning sauces (for example, ketchup) are on the market, among others, with reduced flavour or without added sugar. Steviol glycosides are also available in the form of "tablet sweeteners" for sweetening food and beverages as a substitute for sugar in domestic supermarkets, drugstores and pharmacies. Replacing sugar with steviol glycosides has proven to be a major challenge for product development in terms of taste and texture in some foods, so the supply of steviol glycoside-sweetened goods is currently limited.

Sucralose

Sucralose is a sweetener whose sweetening power is about 600 times stronger than that of sugar. As an additive, sucralose with the E-number E-955 is only permitted in certain foods:

• energy-reduced or sugar-free foods (beverages, desserts, spreads, jams, marmalades, jellies, confectionery)
• sweet and sour preserves (fruits and vegetables, fish, seafood and molluscs)
• sauces and mustard
• alcoholic beverages
• snack products made from cereals or nuts
• Food supplements

Phosphates are essential for living organisms and occur naturally in the body. Phosphates occur naturally in meat, fish and dairy products, cereals, and fruits and vegetables and are an important component of a balanced diet.

Phosphoric acid and phosphates are also used in food production, e.g. as an acidifier, acidity regulator, emulsifier, stabilizer, carrier, melting salt or release agent. As approved additives, they can be found in foods such as sodas, processed cheese, desserts, chocolate, sausages, cured meats, dairy drinks, powdered milk or baking mixes. The approved phosphate additives must be listed in the ingredient list with their E-number or with their specific name: phosphoric acid and its salts, di- and tri-phosphates and polyphosphates (E 338 - 341, E 343 and E 450 - 452).

The use of additives in food is continuously monitored. Official controls are mainly carried out in the form of focus campaigns. Our experts examine and assess the correct labelling and composition of additives. The food groups analysed include non-alcoholic soft drinks, confectionery, pastries, snacks and meat products. In addition to finished foods, we also test additives and mixtures (e.g. baking powder) that are intended to be incorporated into a food.

The results of the tests on food additives are not only used to check compliance with legislation, but also help to estimate the intake levels of food additives in Austria. In 2022, 123 food additives and flavourings were tested, of which 14 (11.28%) were objected to. 12 samples were objected to due to labelling deficiencies and/or misleading information and two samples were objected to due to their composition.

We estimated the intake levels of colorants, preservatives and sweeteners for the Austrian population in 2016-2021. For this purpose, national data on consumption and actual use levels of the food additives were used. Analysis results of food samples examined by our experts in the period January 2016 to 2021 served as the basis for the calculations.

The intake of most food additives (except colorants) is below the respective accepted daily intake (ADI) for average consumers of all population groups in Austria. The ADI value describes the amount of a substance that a person can consume daily over a lifetime without any appreciable risk to his or her health.

More information can be found in the reports.

Our experts regularly conduct tests on flavors and flavor preparations such as vanillin sugar, spice extracts, baking and fruit flavors. They check whether the composition of the flavors meets the requirements of the EU declaration and whether the typical ingredients are contained. In addition, there are flavoring substances whose use is permitted only in limited quantities (e.g., caffeine, quinine, glycyrrhizic acid) and substances that may not be added as such to foods (e.g., aloin, hydrocyanic acid, methyl eugenol and safrole). By means of analytical testing, these substances are detected and evaluated.

Additives in the list of ingredients

Whether a food contains a technologically active additive is indicated in the list of ingredients of packaged foods. There, the additive must be listed as an E-number or with its special designation. In addition, the class name must also be indicated. It clarifies the purpose of the application based on its main effect on the food, for example "Sweetener: Saccharin" or "Sweetener: E-954".

In addition to the naming of additives in the list of ingredients, some sweeteners and colorants require additional information (also for unpackaged goods). For example, foods colored with certain dyes must bear the additional information "May impair activity and attention in children". This information is not only mandatory on the label in the contents declaration, but must also be indicated on unpackaged goods. For example, in a sugar confectionery store that sells loose goods, this notice must be clearly displayed in a conspicuous place, such as on a sign, the price list, the menu or on a notice board.

If sucralose is used in food, it must be indicated in the list of ingredients, e.g., "Sweetener: Sucralose" or "Sweetener: E-955." If a food contains this ingredient, it should not be used for cooking or baking if heated to over 120 °C as a precaution based on current data. On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, we therefore recommend that sucralose should not be used in foods heated above 120 °C or that sucralose should only be added after heating.

Legal basis

The EU Regulation EC No. 1333/2008 has harmonized the existing legislation regarding food additives, flavors and enzymes at EU Community level. It regulates the approval procedure for food additives and the European list of food additives. The following legislation was introduced for this purpose:

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a white color pigment that is currently approved as a food additive E171 and is used to color food and as a component of white glossy coatings, for example, of sweets. Due to the existing safety concerns about titanium dioxide as a food additive, a regulation banning the use of titanium dioxide as an additive in food has been submitted for vote by the European Commission in agreement with the Member States. Subject to the approval of the European Council and the European Parliament, this ban is expected to enter into force in January 2022 with a transition period of 6 months.