How does the FCC relate to JECFA?
The FCC and standards from the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JEFCA) are both used throughout the world. The FCC supports ingredients that are not considered by JECFA–the FCC is a compendium for all food ingredients, while JECFA considers only “food additives” for inclusion in its compendium. Examples of substances included in the FCC but not JECFA are soybean oil, sucrose, fructose, and sodium chloride–substances considered by JECFA to be both foods and food ingredients, but not “food additives.” Furthermore, the FCC considers for inclusion essential oils, functional food ingredients, and U.S. GRAS–Notified and GRAS–self–affirmed ingredients (the latter as a provisional FCC monograph until a regulatory decision has been sought and made). The broader range of ingredients supported by the FCC provides a compendium for the food industry that is often more comprehensive and more useful. FCC monographs can be stepping–stones for JEFCA reviews. The process by which JECFA
