The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is an international expert scientific committee that is administered jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

It has been meeting since 1956, initially to evaluate the safety of food additives.

Areas of work

• Risk assessment/safety evaluation of:
  • Food additives (intentionally added)
  • Processing aids (considered as food additives)
  • Flavouring agents (by functional groups)
  • Residues of veterinary drugs in animal products
  • Contaminants
  • Natural toxins
• Exposure assessment
• Specifications and analytical methods, residue definition, MRL proposals (veterinary drugs)
• Development of general principles

JECFA has evaluated more than 2,500 food additives, approximately 40 contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants, and residues of approximately 90 veterinary drugs.

The Committee has also developed principles for safety assessment of chemicals in foods that are consistent with current thinking on risk assessment and take account of developments in toxicology and other relevant sciences.

Summaries and conclusions from recent meetings

• Seventy-sixth meeting. Food additives.
  Geneva, 5-14 June 2012
• Seventy-fifth meeting. Residues of veterinary drugs. (Corrigendum: The status of the recommended MRLs for Apramycin are temporary and not fully recommended MRLs as reported in the Summary of the 75th Meeting of the Committee that was issued on 23 November 2011.)
  Rome, 8-17 November 2011
• Seventy-fourth meeting. Food additives and Contaminants.
  Rome, 14-23 June 2011
• Seventy-third meeting. Food additives and Contaminants.
  Geneva, 8-17 June 2010
• Seventy-second meeting. Food Contaminants.
  Rome, 16-25 February 2010
• Seventy-first meeting. Food additives.
  Geneva, 16-24 June 2009
• Seventieth meeting - Corrected . Residues of veterinary drugs.
  Geneva, 21-29 October 2008
• Sixty-ninth meeting. Food additives.
  Rome, 17-26 June 2008
• Sixty-eighth meeting. Food additives.
  Geneva, 19-28 June 2007
• Sixty-seventh meeting. Food additives.
  Rome, 20-29 June 2006
• Sixty-sixth meeting. Residues of veterinary drugs.
  Rome, 22-28 February 2006
• Sixty-fifth meeting. Food Additives.
  Geneva, 7-16 June 2005
• Sixty-fourth meeting. Food Contaminants.
  Rome, 8-17 February 2005
• Sixty-third meeting. Food additives.
  Geneva, 8 - 17 June 2004

Chemical and technical assessments of food additives (CTAs)