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Food Additives and Flavourings

The Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF)* evaluates the safety of chemical substances added to food and consumer exposure to them. The Panel's work mainly concerns substances evaluated by EFSA before their use can be authorised in the EU.

FAF Panel Members are scientists from across Europe with expertise in:

  • Chemical risk assessment and safety assessment of food additives and flavouring substances
  • Toxicology (mammalian): sub-chronic and chronic toxicity (repeated dose studies), genotoxicity and mutagenicity, developmental and reproductive toxicity, carcinogenicity, allergenicity and immunotoxicity
  • Toxicity testing in experimental animals and alternative toxicity testing
  • Toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics (ADME - absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) of substances
  • Chemistry (organic, inorganic, analytical and synthetic chemistry), especially for the chemical identification and specification of chemical substances
  • Exposure assessment and consumption surveys
  • Food technology (manufacturing processes and use of food additives)

*The FAF Panel continues the work in most of the areas previously covered by the former Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources Added to Food (ANS). In addition, it has taken over responsibility for the evaluation of flavourings from the former CEF Panel while handing over responsibility for the evaluation of nutrient sources to the NDA Panel.

Panel members

Food Additives and Flavourings Panel members 2018-2024

Panel composition and Declarations of Interests.

Previous Panel Members

2017-2018

Chair: Maged Younes
Vice-Chair: Ursula Gundert-Remy; Rudolf Antonius Woutersen
Members: Peter Aggett; Fernando Aguilar; Riccardo Crebelli; Birgit Dusemund; Metka Filipic; Maria Jose Frutos Fernandez; Pierre Galtier; David Gott; Gunter Georg Kuhnle; Claude Lambré; Jean-Charles Leblanc; Therese Lillegaard Inger; Peter Moldeus; Alicja Mortensen; Agneta Oskarsson; Ivan Stankovic; Dina Hendrika Waalkens-Berendsen; Matthew Wright

2014-2017

Chair: Mortensen Alicja
Vice-Chair: Lambré Claude; Woutersen Rudolf Antonius
Members: Aguilar Fernando; Crebelli Riccardo; Di Domenico Alessandro; Dusemund Birgit; Frutos Maria Jose; Galtier Pierre; Gott David; Gundert-Remy Ursula; Leblanc Jean-Charles; Lindtner Oliver; Moldeus Peter; Mosesso Pasquale; Oskarsson Agneta; Parent-Massin Dominique; Stankovic Ivan; Waalkens-Berendsen Ine; Wright Matthew; Younes Maged

2011-2014

Chair: Mortensen Alicja
Vice-Chair: Gott David; Lambré Claude
Members: Aguilar Fernando; Crebelli Riccardo; Dusemund Birgit; Galtier Pierre; Gundert-Remy Ursula; Koenig Juergen; Leblanc Jean-Charles; Mosesso Pasquale; Oskarsson Agneta; Parent-Massin Dominique; Rose Martin; Stankovic Ivan; Tobback Paul; Waalkens-Berendsen Ine; Woutersen Rudolf Antonius; Wright Matthew;

2008-2011

Chair: John Christian Larsen
Vice-Chair: Iona Pratt; Ivonne M.C.M Rietjens
Members: Fernando Aguilar; Ruth Charrondiere, until March 2010; Birgit Dusemund; Pierre Galtier; John Gilbert; David Gott; Sandro Grilli; Rainer Gürtler; Georges Kass, until August 2009; Jürgen König; Claude Lambré; Jean-Charles Leblanc; Alicja Mortensen; Dominique Parent Massin; Ivan Stankovic; Paul Tobback; Tatjana Verguieva; Rudolf Antonius Woutersen

The Declarations of Interests and CVs of previous Panel members are available upon interestmanagement [at] efsa.europa.eu (request).

Working groups

Flavourings - FAF Panel

Food Additives Applications - FAF Panel

Re-evaluation of miscellaneous food additives - FAF Panel

Specifications of Food Additives - FAF Panel

Sweeteners - FAF Panel

WG Follow-up Tox - FAF Panel

WG on the re-evaluation of food additives permitted in foods for infants below 16 weeks of age - FAF Panel

Closed working groups

Allura Red - ANS Panel

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Application 2017-2018 - ANS Panel

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Aspartame - ANS Panel

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Assessment of carcinogenicity of sucralose - ANS Panel

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Botanicals in food

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Chemistry and Specifications - ANS Panel

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ESCO Isoflavones

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Exposure assessment - ANS Panel

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Food additives and nutrient sources 2008-2011 - ANS Panel

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Food additives and nutrient sources 2011-2014 - ANS Panel (Working Group A)

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Food additives and nutrient sources 2011-2014 - ANS Panel (Working Group B)

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Guidance on food additives - ANS Panel

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Guidance on Nutrient Sources - ANS Panel

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Isoflavones - ANS Panel

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Phosphates - ANS Panel

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Phosphates - FAF Panel

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Procedures under Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1925/2006 (Standing WG) - ANS Panel

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Ramazzini Institute study on aspartame in mice and methanol - ANS Panel

Available soon

Re-evaluation of Annatto extracts (E 160b) - FAF Panel

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Re-evaluation of Food Additives other than Gums & Colours 2017-2018 - ANS Panel

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Re-evaluation of Food Colours 2017-2018 - ANS Panel

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Re-evaluation of Gums and Food Additives from Natural Sources 2017-2018 - ANS Panel

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Re-evaluation of Nitrates - Nitrites 2014-2017 - ANS Panel

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Re-evaluation of other miscellaneous food additives with 2018 deadline (Standing WG) - ANS Panel

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Re-evaluation of Starches, Celluloses and Pectins - ANS Panel

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Sulphur Dioxide-Sulphites (E220-228)

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Titanium dioxide (E171) - FAF Panel

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Toxicology - ANS Panel

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WG 'B' Food additives and nutrient sources 2008-2011 - ANS Panel

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WG on Guidance Update on Flavourings - FAF Panel

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WG on the follow-up of the re-evaluation of sorbic acid and potassium sorbate as food additives - FAF Panel

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WG on the re-evaluation of remaining food additives other than colours and sweeteners - FAF Panel

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