Regulations - Food Biopreservation - page 110

It is “an ingredient with functionality against outgrowth of Listeria in dairy based
products, and small spectrum lactic acid bacteria inhibition.” Such products are
approved in the US and commercialized in several other countries as well as shelf
life extenders for application in a variety of food products.
According to Directive 2000/13/EC (European Parliament and Council 2000 ) on
food labelling, “'ingredient' shall mean any substance, including additives, used in
the manufacture or preparation of a foodstuff and still present in the fi nished prod-
uct, even if in altered form.” Fermented milk or whey concentrates or lyophilised
preparations (regardless of whether they contain or not bacteriocins) can be added
as ingredients in the preparation of dairy foods. In the European Union, approval of
bacteriocins for application as food additives or preservatives must comply with
specifi cations given in Regulation 1333/2008/EC (European Parliament and Council
( 2008b ), which harmonises the use of food additives in foods in the European
Community and updates Directive 89/107/EEC (European Commission 1988 ) con-
cerning food additives authorized for use in foodstuffs intended for human con-
sumption and Directive 95/2/EC (European Parliament and Council 1995 ) on food
additives other than colours and sweeteners, and Regulation 258/97/EC (European
Parliament and Council 1997 ) on novel foods and novel ingredients. Food additives
are substances that are not normally consumed as food itself but are added to food
intentionally for a technological purpose described in the above Regulation, such as
the preservation of food. Preservatives are considered a functional class of food
additives: 'preservatives' are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by
protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which pro-
tect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms. Approved food additives must
be listed in the Community lists and shall specify: (a) the name of the food additive
and its E number; (b) the foods to which the food additive may be added; (c) the
conditions under which the food additive may be used; (d) if appropriate, whether
there are any restrictions on the sale of the food additive directly to the fi nal con-
sumer. Approved specifi cations should include information to adequately identify
the food additive, including origin, and to describe the acceptable criteria of purity.
Added preservatives must be listed in food labels with their specifi c name or EC
number (Directive 2000/13/EC; European Parliament and Council 2000 ). The use
and maximum levels of a food additive should take into account the intake of the
food additive from other sources and the exposure to the food additive by special
groups of consumers (e.g. allergic consumers). The risk assessment and approval of
food additives should be carried out in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 (European Parliament and Council 2008a ) estab-
lishing a common authorisation procedure for food additives, food enzymes and
food fl avourings. Food additives which were permitted before 20 January 2009 shall
be subject to a new risk assessment carried out by the Authority.
Bacteriocin preparations could also be applied as processing aids in food manu-
facture. Directive 2000/13/EC (European Parliament and Council 2000 ) and
Regulation 1333/2008/EC (European Parliament and Council 2008b ) do not cover
processing aids, but according to Regulation 1333/2008/EC 'processing aid' shall
mean any substance which: (1) is not consumed as a food by itself; (2) is intentionally