This Chemical and Technical Assessment summarizes data and information on the endo-1,4-β-xylanase from Rasamsonia emersonii expressed in Aspergillus niger that was submitted to JECFA. 1 This document also discusses published information relevant to the safety of the endo-1,4-β-xylanase, including the A. niger production organism and details related to the manufacturing, specifications, use, and use levels of the endo-1,4-β-xylanase enzyme preparation in food. This document uses the expression “endo-1,4-β-xylanase” to refer to the enzyme and its amino acid sequence, the expression “enzyme concentrate” to refer to the fermentation products containing the enzyme of interest, and the expression “endo-1,4-β-xylanase enzyme preparation” to refer to the products formulated for commercial use.

This Chemical and Technical Assessment summarizes data and information on the endo-1,4-β-xylanase enzyme preparation from Bacillus subtilis LMG S-28355 expressing a xylanase gene from B. subtilis. This document also discusses published information relevant to the safety of endo-1,4-β-xylanase, including the B. subtilis production organism and details related to the manufacturing, specifications, use and use levels of the xylanase enzyme preparation in food. This document uses the expression “endo-1,4-β-xylanase” to refer to the enzyme and its amino acid sequence, and the expression “endo-1,4-β-xylanase enzyme preparation” to refer to the product formulated for commercial use.

This Chemical and Technical Assessment summarizes data and information on the glucosidase from Aspergillus niger expressed in Trichoderma reesei that was submitted to JECFA. This document also discusses published information relevant to the safety of the glucosidase enzyme, including the T. reesei production organism and details related to the manufacturing, specifications, use and use levels of the enzyme in food. In this document, the terms “glucosidase”, “α-glucosidase”, and “transglucosidase” refer to the enzyme and its amino acid sequence; the term “enzyme concentrate” refers to the fermentation product containing the enzyme of interest, which is used in the toxicity studies; and the term “enzyme preparation” refers to the formulated product for commercial use.

In response to a request from the 53rd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) convened a meeting to review recent scientific developments, data and evidence associated with foodborne viruses.The Expert Committee: 1) reviewed the literature and available surveillance databases, and participated in an expert knowledge elicitation, which ranked foodborne viruses according to frequency and severity; 2) ranked the relevant food commodities of highest public health concern; 3) discussed methods for virus testing performed for outbreak investigation and product testing as part of surveillance and monitoring strategies; and 4) reviewed current and potential indicators for viral contamination.

Food contact materials should not release their constituent substances into food at levels harmful to human health nor change the food composition, taste, or odor unacceptably. The historical evolution of food packaging shows that the use of plastics has increased dramatically, because of its convenience, lightweight, and cost effectiveness, but carries a significant environmental impact. Influenced by trends such as growing awareness of the environmental footprint and stricter safety requirements, conventional packaging is now progressively evolving toward new alternatives. All stakeholders in the agrifood system are involved in the journey to transform food packaging to more sustainable alternatives, while maintaining the important functionalities of suitable food packaging. The current most promising food packaging alternatives are presented in this...

This volume of FAO JECFA Monographs contains residue evaluation of certain veterinary drugs prepared at the 98th Meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), held from 20 to 29 February 2024. This JECFA meeting was convened specifically to consider residues of veterinary drugs in food-producing animal species. The tasks for the Committee were to further elaborate principles for evaluating the safety of residues of veterinary drugs in food and for establishing acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) and/or acute reference doses (ARfDs), and to recommend maximum residue limits (MRLs) for substances when they are administered to food-producing animals in accordance with good veterinary practice (GVP) in the use of veterinary drugs. The present volume contains monographs...

The Ninety-ninth meeting of the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) was held in Geneva from 11 to 20 June 2024. The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate the safety of certain food additives. The present meeting was the Ninety-ninth in a series of similar meetings. The tasks before the Committee were to (a) further elaborate principles governing the evaluation of food additives and enzymes; (b) undertake safety evaluations of certain food additives and enzymes; (c) review and prepare specifications for certain food additives and enzymes; and (d) review specifications for certain flavouring agents.

Lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) and ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) are used to prevent and treat malnutrition in children. They are often produced in regions experiencing food insecurity and include edible oils obtained from oleaginous seeds or fruits that must be refined to remove undesirable substances and ensure adequate shelf-life for the product. However, the formation of the heat-induced contaminants 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) fatty acid esters and glycidyl fatty acid esters (GEs) may occur during the refining process of edible oils.3-MCPD and its fatty acid esters are present in many other foodstuffs and most of the total lifetime exposure is attributed to foods other than LNS/RUTF. While the only Codex standard developed for 3-MCPD is for liquid condiments containing...

To collate and assess the most recent scientific information relevant to the control of thermotolerant Campylobacter species in broiler production and chicken meat, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) convened a meeting in Rome, Italy in February 2023. The expert committee reviewed the available data on Campylobacter control including scientific literature published from 2008 to October 2022 and data submitted in response to a call for data for this meeting. The experts: 1) determined the quality and quantity of evidence of control measures for Campylobacter, 2) evaluated the impact of measures to control Campylobacter in the broiler production chain, 3) determined which hazard-based interventions pertained specifically to Campylobacter and which were general to the...

This document contains food additive specification monographs, analytical methods, and other information prepared at the ninetyseventh meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), which was held in Rome from 31 October to 9 November 2023. The specification monographs provide information on the identity and purity of food additives used directly in foods or in food production. The main three objectives of these specifications are to identify the food additive that has been subjected to testing for safety, to ensure that the additives are of the quality required for use in food or in processing and to reflect and encourage good manufacturing practice. This publication and other documents produced by JECFA contain information that is...