GSFA Online

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.

Food CategoryNumber

Dairy products and analogues, excluding products of category 02.0

01.0

Fats and oils, and fat emulsions

02.0

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

Confectionery

05.0

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

Bakery wares

07.0

Meat and meat products, including poultry and game

08.0

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

09.0

Eggs and egg products

10.0

Sweeteners, including honey

11.0

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

12.0

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

Fruit and vegetable juices

14.1.2

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

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

Ready-to-eat savouries

15.0

Prepared foods

16.0

© FAO and WHO 2023