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Food Categories

The Codex GSFA's food category system is hierarchical and applies to all foodstuffs, including those in which no food additives are permitted. The system includes a description of the foods covered by each food category, as well as relevant food additive provisions.

The food categories are not intended for labeling purposes.

Click on a category below to view its description and relevant food additive provisions.

Food categories marked with this symbol may contain one or more subcategories listed in the Annex to Table 3. Table 3 provisions therefore apply only to some, but not all of the subcategories of the indicated category.

Table 3 provisions do not apply to categories marked with this symbol as they are listed in the Annex to Table 3.

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Food CategoryNumber

Dairy products and analogues, excluding products of category 02.0

01.0

Fluid milk and milk products

01.1

Fluid milk (plain)

01.1.1

Other fluid milk (plain)

01.1.2

Flavoured fluid milk drinks

01.1.4

Fermented and renneted milk products (plain)

01.2

Fermented milks (plain)

01.2.1

Fermented milks (plain), not heat-treated after fermentation

01.2.1.1

Fermented milks (plain), heat-treated after fermentation

01.2.1.2

Renneted milk (plain)

01.2.2

Condensed milk and analogues (plain)

01.3

Condensed milk (plain)

01.3.1

Beverage whiteners

01.3.2

Cream (plain) and the like

01.4

Pasteurized cream (plain)

01.4.1

Sterilized and UHT creams, whipping and whipped creams, and reduced fat creams (plain)

01.4.2

Clotted cream (plain)

01.4.3

Cream analogues

01.4.4

Milk powder and cream powder and powder analogues (plain)

01.5

Milk powder and cream powder (plain)

01.5.1

Milk and cream powder analogues

01.5.2

Cheese and analogues

01.6

Unripened cheese

01.6.1

Ripened cheese

01.6.2

Ripened cheese, includes rind

01.6.2.1

Rind of ripened cheese

01.6.2.2

Cheese powder (for reconstitution; e.g. for cheese sauces)

01.6.2.3

Whey cheese

01.6.3

Processed cheese

01.6.4

Plain processed cheese

01.6.4.1

Flavoured processed cheese, including containing fruit, vegetables, meat, etc.

01.6.4.2

Cheese analogues

01.6.5

Whey protein cheese

01.6.6

Dairy-based desserts (e.g. pudding, fruit or flavoured yoghurt)

01.7

Whey and whey products, excluding whey cheeses

01.8

Liquid whey and whey products, excluding whey cheeses

01.8.1

Dried whey and whey products, excluding whey cheeses

01.8.2

Fats and oils, and fat emulsions

02.0

Fats and oils essentially free from water

02.1

Butter oil, anhydrous milkfat, ghee

02.1.1

Vegetable oils and fats

02.1.2

Lard, tallow, fish oil, and other animal fats

02.1.3

Fat emulsions mainly of type water-in-oil

02.2

Butter

02.2.1

Fat spreads, dairy fat spreads and blended spreads

02.2.2

Fat emulsions mainly of type oil-in-water, including mixed and/or flavoured products based on fat emulsions

02.3

Fat-based desserts excluding dairy-based dessert products of food category 01.7

02.4

Edible ices, including sherbet and sorbet

03.0

Fruits and vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds

04.0

Fruit

04.1

Fresh fruit

04.1.1

Untreated fresh fruit

04.1.1.1

Surface-treated fresh fruit

04.1.1.2

Peeled or cut fresh fruit

04.1.1.3

Processed fruit

04.1.2

Frozen fruit

04.1.2.1

Dried fruit

04.1.2.2

Fruit in vinegar, oil, or brine

04.1.2.3

Canned or bottled (pasteurized) fruit

04.1.2.4

Jams, jellies, marmelades

04.1.2.5

Fruit-based spreads (e.g. chutney) excluding products of food category 04.1.2.5

04.1.2.6

Candied fruit

04.1.2.7

Fruit preparations, including pulp, purees, fruit toppings and coconut milk

04.1.2.8

Fruit-based desserts, including fruit-flavoured water-based desserts

04.1.2.9

Fermented fruit products

04.1.2.10

Fruit fillings for pastries

04.1.2.11

Cooked fruit

04.1.2.12

Vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds

04.2

Fresh vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds

04.2.1

Untreated fresh vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes [(including soybeans)], and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds

04.2.1.1

Surface-treated fresh vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds

04.2.1.2

Peeled, cut or shredded fresh vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds

04.2.1.3

Processed vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds

04.2.2

Frozen vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds

04.2.2.1

Dried vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds

04.2.2.2

Vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds in vinegar, oil, brine, or soybean sauce

04.2.2.3

Canned or bottled (pasteurized) or retort pouch vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds

04.2.2.4

Vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweed, and nut and seed purees and spreads (e.g., peanut butter)

04.2.2.5

Vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweed, and nut and seed pulps and preparations (e.g. vegetable desserts and sauces, candied vegetables) other than food category 04.2.2.5

04.2.2.6

Fermented vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera) and seaweed products, excluding fermented soybean products of food categories 06.8.6, 06.8.7, 12.9.1, 12.9.2.1 and 12.9.2.3

04.2.2.7

Cooked or fried vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds

04.2.2.8

Confectionery

05.0

Cocoa products and chocolate products including imitations and chocolate substitutes

05.1

Cocoa mixes (powders) and cocoa mass/cake

05.1.1

Cocoa mixes (syrups)

05.1.2

Cocoa-based spreads, including fillings

05.1.3

Cocoa and chocolate products

05.1.4

Imitation chocolate, chocolate substitute products

05.1.5

Confectionery including hard and soft candy, nougats, etc. other than food categories 05.1, 05.3 and 05.4

05.2

Hard candy

05.2.1

Soft candy

05.2.2

Nougats and marzipans

05.2.3

Chewing gum

05.3

Decorations (e.g. for fine bakery wares), toppings (non-fruit) and sweet sauces

05.4

Cereals and cereal products, derived from cereal grains, from roots and tubers, pulses, legumes and pith or soft core of palm tree, excluding bakery wares of food category 07.0

06.0

Whole, broken, or flaked grain, including rice

06.1

Flours and starches (including soybean powder)

06.2

Flours

06.2.1

Starches

06.2.2

Breakfast cereals, including rolled oats

06.3

Pastas and noodles and like products (e.g., rice paper, rice vermicelli, soybean pastas and noodles)

06.4

Fresh pastas and noodles and like products

06.4.1

Dried pastas and noodles and like products

06.4.2

Pre-cooked pastas and noodles and like products

06.4.3

Cereal and starch based desserts (e.g. rice pudding, tapioca pudding)

06.5

Batters (e.g. for breading or batters for fish or poultry)

06.6

Pre-cooked or processed rice products, including rice cakes (Oriental type only)

06.7

Soybean products (excluding soybean-based seasonings and condiments of food category 12.9)

06.8

Soybean-based beverages

06.8.1

Soybean-based beverage film

06.8.2

Soybean curd (tofu)

06.8.3

Semi-dehydrated soybean curd

06.8.4

Thick gravy-stewed semi-dehydrated soybean curd

06.8.4.1

Deep fried semi-dehydrated soybean curd

06.8.4.2

Semi-dehydrated soybean curd, other than food categories 06.8.4.1 and 06.8.4.2

06.8.4.3

Dehydrated soybean curd (kori tofu)

06.8.5

Fermented soybeans (e.g. natto, tempe)

06.8.6

Fermented soybean curd

06.8.7

Other soybean protein products

06.8.8

Bakery wares

07.0

Bread and ordinary bakery wares

07.1

Breads and rolls

07.1.1

Yeast-leavened breads and specialty breads

07.1.1.1

Soda breads

07.1.1.2

Crackers, excluding sweet crackers

07.1.2

Other ordinary bakery products (e.g. bagels, pita, English muffins)

07.1.3

Bread-type products, including bread stuffing and bread crumbs

07.1.4

Steamed breads and buns

07.1.5

Mixes for bread and ordinary bakery wares

07.1.6

Fine bakery wares (sweet, salty, savoury) and mixes

07.2

Cakes, cookies and pies (e.g. fruit-filled or custard types)

07.2.1

Other fine bakery products (e.g. doughnuts, sweet rolls, scones, and muffins)

07.2.2

Mixes for fine bakery wares (e.g. cakes, pancakes)

07.2.3

Meat and meat products, including poultry and game

08.0

Fresh meat, poultry, and game

08.1

Fresh meat, poultry, and game, whole pieces or cuts

08.1.1

Fresh meat, poultry, and game, comminuted

08.1.2

Processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts

08.2

Non-heat treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts

08.2.1

Cured (including salted) non-heat treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts

08.2.1.1

Cured (including salted) and dried non-heat treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts

08.2.1.2

Fermented non-heat treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts

08.2.1.3

Heat-treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts

08.2.2

Frozen processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts

08.2.3

Processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products

08.3

Non-heat treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products

08.3.1

Cured (including salted) non-heat treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products

08.3.1.1

Cured (including salted) and dried non-heat treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products

08.3.1.2

Fermented non-heat treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products

08.3.1.3

Heat-treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products

08.3.2

Frozen processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products

08.3.3

Edible casings (e.g. sausage casings)

08.4

Fish and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.0

Fresh fish and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.1

Fresh fish

09.1.1

Fresh mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.1.2

Processed fish and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.2

Frozen fish, fish fillets, and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.2.1

Frozen battered fish, fish fillets, and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.2.2

Frozen minced and creamed fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.2.3

Cooked and/or fried fish and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.2.4

Cooked fish and fish products

09.2.4.1

Cooked mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.2.4.2

Fried fish and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.2.4.3

Smoked, dried, fermented, and/or salted fish and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.2.5

Semi-preserved fish and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.3

Fish and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms, marinated and/or in jelly

09.3.1

Fish and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms, pickled and/or in brine

09.3.2

Salmon substitutes, caviar, and other fish roe products

09.3.3

Semi-preserved fish and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms (e.g. fish paste), excluding products of food categories 09.3.1 - 09.3.3

09.3.4

Fully preserved, including canned or fermented fish and fish products, including mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms

09.4

Eggs and egg products

10.0

Fresh eggs

10.1

Egg products

10.2

Liquid egg products

10.2.1

Frozen egg products

10.2.2

Dried and/or heat coagulated egg products

10.2.3

Preserved eggs, including alkaline, salted, and canned eggs

10.3

Egg-based desserts (e.g. custard)

10.4

Sweeteners, including honey

11.0

Refined and raw sugars

11.1

White sugar, dextrose anhydrous, dextrose monohydrate, fructose

11.1.1

Powdered sugar, powdered dextrose

11.1.2

Soft white sugar, soft brown sugar, glucose syrup, dried glucose syrup, raw cane sugar

11.1.3

Dried glucose syrup used to manufacture sugar confectionery

11.1.3.1

Glucose syrup used to manufacture sugar confectionery

11.1.3.2

Lactose

11.1.4

Plantation or mill white sugar

11.1.5

Brown sugar excluding products of food category 11.1.3

11.2

Sugar solutions and syrups, also (partially) inverted, including treacle and molasses, excluding products of food category 11.1.3

11.3

Other sugars and syrups (e.g. xylose, maple syrup, sugar toppings)

11.4

Honey

11.5

Table-top sweeteners, including those containing high-intensity sweeteners

11.6

Salts, spices, soups, sauces, salads, protein products

12.0

Salt and salt substitutes

12.1

Salt

12.1.1

Salt Substitutes

12.1.2

Herbs, spices, seasonings and condiments (e.g. seasoning for instant noodles)

12.2

Herbs and spices

12.2.1

Seasonings and condiments

12.2.2

Vinegars

12.3

Mustards

12.4

Soups and broths

12.5

Ready-to-eat soups and broths, including canned, bottled, and frozen

12.5.1

Mixes for soups and broths

12.5.2

Sauces and like products

12.6

Emulsified sauces and dips (e.g. mayonnaise, salad dressing, onion dip)

12.6.1

Non-emulsified sauces (e.g. ketchup, cheese sauce, cream sauce, brown gravy)

12.6.2

Mixes for sauces and gravies

12.6.3

Clear sauces (e.g. fish sauce)

12.6.4

Salads (e.g. macaroni salad, potato salad) and sandwich spreads excluding cocoa- and nut-based spreads of food categories 04.2.2.5 and 05.1.3

12.7

Yeast and like products

12.8

Soybean-based seasonings and condiments

12.9

Fermented soybean paste (e.g., miso)

12.9.1

Soybean sauce

12.9.2

Fermented soybean sauce

12.9.2.1

Non-fermented soybean sauce

12.9.2.2

Other soybean sauces

12.9.2.3

Protein products other than from soybeans

12.10

Foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses

13.0

Infant formulae, follow-up formulae, and formulae for special medical purposes for infants

13.1

Infant formulae

13.1.1

Follow-up formulae

13.1.2

Formulae for special medical purposes for infants

13.1.3

Complementary foods for infants and young children

13.2

Dietetic foods intended for special medical purposes (excluding products of food category 13.1)

13.3

Dietetic formulae for slimming purposes and weight reduction

13.4

Dietetic foods (e.g. supplementary foods for dietary use) excluding products of food categories 13.1 - 13.4 and 13.6

13.5

Food supplements

13.6

Beverages, excluding dairy products

14.0

Non-alcoholic ("soft") beverages

14.1

Waters

14.1.1

Natural mineral waters and source waters

14.1.1.1

Table waters and soda waters

14.1.1.2

Fruit and vegetable juices

14.1.2

Fruit juice

14.1.2.1

Vegetable juice

14.1.2.2

Concentrates for fruit juice

14.1.2.3

Concentrates for vegetable juice

14.1.2.4

Fruit and vegetable nectars

14.1.3

Fruit nectar

14.1.3.1

Vegetable nectar

14.1.3.2

Concentrates for fruit nectar

14.1.3.3

Concentrates for vegetable nectar

14.1.3.4

Water-based flavoured drinks, including "sport," "energy," or "electrolyte" drinks and particulated drinks

14.1.4

Carbonated water-based flavoured drinks

14.1.4.1

Non-carbonated water-based flavoured drinks, including punches and ades

14.1.4.2

Concentrates (liquid or solid) for water-based flavoured drinks

14.1.4.3

Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions, and other hot cereal and grain beverages, excluding cocoa

14.1.5

Alcoholic beverages, including alcohol-free and low-alcoholic counterparts

14.2

Beer and malt beverages

14.2.1

Cider and perry

14.2.2

Grape wines

14.2.3

Still grape wine

14.2.3.1

Sparkling and semi-sparkling grape wines

14.2.3.2

Fortified grape wine, grape liquor wine, and sweet grape wine

14.2.3.3

Wines (other than grape)

14.2.4

Mead

14.2.5

Distilled spirituous beverages containing more than 15% alcohol

14.2.6

Aromatized alcoholic beverages (e.g. beer, wine and spirituous cooler-type beverages, low alcoholic refreshers)

14.2.7

Ready-to-eat savouries

15.0

Snacks - potato, cereal, flour or starch based (from roots and tubers, pulses and legumes)

15.1

Processed nuts, including coated nuts and nut mixtures (with e.g. dried fruit)

15.2

Snacks - fish based

15.3

Prepared foods

16.0

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