- acid
means any substance which increases the acidity of a food or imparts a sour taste to it, or both;
- acidity regulator
means any substance which alters or controls the acidity or alkalinity of a food;
- anti-caking agent
has the meaning assigned to it by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 1995;”
- anti-foaming agent
means any substance which prevents or reduces foaming;
- antioxidant
means any substance which prolongs the shelf-life of a food by protecting it against deterioration caused by oxidation, including fat rancidity and colour changes;
- bulking agent
means any substance which contributes to the volume of a food without contributing significantly to its available energy value;
- colour
has the same meaning as in the Colours in Food Regulations 1995;
- Directive 89/107/EEC
means Council Directive 89/107/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning food additives authorised for use in foodstuffs intended for human consumption;
- Directive 89/398/EEC
means Council Directive 89/398/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses;
- Directive 95/2/EC
means European Parliament and Council Directive 95/2/EC on food additives other than colours and sweeteners (as corrected);
- emulsifier
means any substance which makes it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases, such as oil and water, in a food;
- emulsifying salt
means any substance which converts proteins contained in cheese into a dispersed form, thereby bringing about homogenous distribution of fat and other components;
- firming agent
means any substance which makes or keeps tissues of fruit or vegetables firm or crisp or which interacts with a gelling agent to produce or strengthen a gel;
- flavour enhancer
means any substance which enhances the existing taste or odour, or both, of a food;
- flour bleaching agent
means any substance primarily used to remove colour from flour;
- flour treatment agent
means any substance which is added to flour or dough to improve its baking quality;”
- foaming agent
means any substance which makes it possible to form a homogenous dispersion of a gaseous phase in a liquid or solid food;
- food
means food sold, or intended for sale, for human consumption and in regulation 6 and for the purposes of regulation 9 includes a food additive;
- food additive
means— (a) any substance not normally consumed as a food in itself and not normally used as a characteristic ingredient of food, whether or not it has nutritive value, the intentional addition of which to food for a technological purpose in the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packaging, transport or storage of such food results, or may reasonably be expected to result, in it or its by-products becoming directly or indirectly a component of such foods;
- gelling agent
means any substance which gives a food texture through the formation of a gel;
- glazing agent
means any substance which, when applied to the external surface of a food, imparts a shiny appearance or provides a protective coating, and includes lubricants;
- humectant
means any substance which prevents a food from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or which promotes the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium;
- infants
means children under the age of twelve months;
- member State
means a member State of the European Community;
- miscellaneous additive
has the same meaning as in the 1995 Regulations;
- modified starch
means any substance obtained by one or more chemical treatments of edible starch, which may have undergone a physical or enzymatic treatment, and may be acid or alkali thinned or bleached;
- packaging gas
means any gas, other than air, which is introduced into a container before, during or after the placing of a food in that container;
- permitted miscellaneous additive
means any miscellaneous additive in so far as its use in food is permitted by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 1995;”
- preservative
has the meaning assigned to it by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 1995;”
- processing aid
means any substance not consumed as a food by itself, intentionally used in the processing of raw materials, foods or their ingredients to fulfil a certain technological purpose during treatment or processing, and which may result in the unintentional but technically unavoidable presence of residues of the substance or its derivatives in the final product, provided that these residues do not present any health risk and do not have any technological effect on the finished product;
- propellant
means any gas, other than air, which expels a food from a container;
- purity criteria
means the purity criteria (if any) for that miscellaneous additive specified or referred to in Schedule 5;
- raising agent
means any substance or combination of substances which liberates gas and thereby increases the volume of a dough or a batter;
- relevant food additive
means any miscellaneous additive, colour or sweetener, or an enzyme which is not acting as a processing aid;
- sell
includes possess for sale, and offer, expose or advertise for sale, and “sale” and “sold” shall be construed accordingly;
- sequestrant
means any substance which forms a chemical complex with metallic ions;
- stabiliser
means any substance which makes it possible to maintain the physico-chemical state of a food, including any substance which enables a homogenous dispersion of two or more immiscible substances in a food to be maintained, and any substance which stabilises, retains or intensifies an existing colour of a food;
- sweetener
has the same meaning as in the Sweeteners in Food Regulations 1995;
- the 1995 Regulations
means the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 1995;”
- the Act
means the Food Safety Act 1990;
- thickener
means any substance which increases the viscosity of a food;
- young children
means children aged between one and three years.