Safety and Management of Food Additives in the United States

Abstract

Food safety is an important issue related to the government regulatory authorities, food industry and food consumers. And the increasing use of food additives has become a matter of public and administrative concern, so an extensive safety evaluation on food additives must be carried out and the use of the additives in food should be controlled by law. In the United States, the Congress has entrusted the FDA with the responsibility to ensure that new additives to be used in foods and the foods the consumers purchase are safe. This paper discusses the supervision and management system of food additives in the United States. The conclusion is that FDA has developed a scientifically rigorous, sound and dependable system to assure the safety of food, thus a new food additive must be approved by FDA before it can be used in food. Management of food additives in the United States is also a helpful reference for government food control agencies in other countries.