Insight by Sofia Morais, Chair of the Technical Committee of FEDIMA.
Read it also in Fedima's 2023/2024 Annual Report.
Fedima's commitment to ensure the quality and safety of our products starts from the ingredients we use and has driven an important part of the work of Fedima’s Technical Committee this year.
Ingredients play an essential role in the food sector and are the centre of our members’ core business as manufacturers and suppliers of ingredients to the bakery, confectionery and patisseries industries.
The commitment of our sector to ensure the quality and safety of our products, starting from the ingredients we use, has driven an important part of the work of Fedima’s Technical Committee this year. For example, Fedima has participated to the calls for data from EFSA and the European Commission on several food additives used within our sector (such as gluconic acid and related food additives, food additives in gaseous form, tartaric acids, etc.), has joined forces with NATCOL to provide data on beta-carotene and apocarotenal, but also closely engaged with EFEMA on the new regulatory requirements applicable to some emulsifiers. This collaborative approach with different stakeholders aims to secure that the use of such ingredients in the products Fedima represents is maintained, while assuring that they meet stringent safety standards and regulatory requirements.
On the other hand, clarity when it comes to the regulatory status of ingredients remains an element of key importance. In this context, Fedima has been working on supporting members in navigating the complexities of ingredient’s usage. Having a clear and harmonised approach at EU level to determine the regulatory status of ingredients, in particular in determining if those are a food additive, is of critical relevance. By bringing clarity in this domain, Fedima engages in securing a level playing field for food manufacturers across the chain while contributing to sustain our customers and consumers’ confidence in the products we produce.
As a result, Fedima keeps working on an internal guidance on functional ingredients (an ingredient with a single or multiple functions) designed to help members determine in which case one of their ingredients constitutes a simple ingredient or an additive from a regulatory point of view. After consolidating a strong rationale, Fedima will now be looking at advocating for the recognition of the criteria and approach defined in the guidance developed in front of decision-makers and in collaboration with our partners from the food sector.
Overall, securing common and coordinated messages on topics of interest to our members and advocating on them is a prevalent objective across all our expert groups within the Fedima Technical Committee. In the context of increased scrutiny around the use of certain ingredients, ensuring a sound, science-based safety assessment, proper labelling and use is at the core of our activities. This has been the aim behind different initiatives developed this year, as for example, our new poster on the benefits of enzymes use in the bakery industry, our contribution to the Commission’s call for data usage on food additives, as well as Fedima participation in the Commission’s stakeholders consultation on a legislative proposal on mineral oil hydrocarbons in food.
As Chair of the Technical Committee, and with the contribution of the Chairs of Fedima’s Expert Groups, I am honoured to lead these efforts and reinforce our commitment to excellence in every aspect of ingredients management.