Update to the List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Generally Accepted Uses and the List of Permitted Sequestering Agents to Enable the Use of Trisodium Pyrophosphate in Unstandardized Foods and Certain Standardized Fish Products
Background
Health Canada's Food Directorate completed a detailed safety assessment of the use of trisodium pyrophosphate in those standardized meat, poultry and fish products and unstandardized foods where the use of tetrasodium pyrophosphate and sodium acid pyrophosphate are currently permitted. Trisodium pyrophosphate is a phosphate that has a variety of technical functions (e.g, inhibit protein denaturation, sequester metal ions, reduce cooking loss, maintain colour stability). It would be used in place of other already-permitted phosphate salts.
Since trisodium pyrophosphate is a food additive that has not been previously permitted for use in Canada, Health Canada published the Information and Consultation Document on Health Canada's Proposal to Enable the Use of the Food Additive 'Trisodium Pyrophosphate' in Certain Standardized Meat, Poultry and Marine and Freshwater Products, and in Unstandardized Foods in October 2012, requesting comments.
As no safety concerns were raised neither through this assessment nor through the consultation process, the Department has enabled the food additive use described in the information document by updating the List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Generally Accepted Uses and the List of Permitted Sequestering Agents effective August 21, 2014. The purpose of this communication is to publically announce the Department's decision in this regard and to provide the appropriate contact information for any inquiries or for those wishing to submit any new scientific information relevant to the safety of this food additive.
Information Document
To obtain an electronic copy of the Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Generally Accepted Uses and the List of Permitted Sequestering Agents to Enable the Use of Trisodium Pyrophosphate in Unstandardized Foods and Certain Standardized Fish Products- Document Reference number: NOM/ADM-0034, please contact our publications office or send an e-mail to publications@hc-sc.gc.ca with the subject heading "hpfb BCS nom-adm-0034-eng".
Contact Information
Health Canada's Food Directorate is committed to reviewing any new scientific information on the safety in use of any food additive, including trisodium pyrophosphate. Anyone wishing to submit new scientific information on the use of this additive or to submit any inquiries may do so in writing, by regular mail or electronically. If you wish to contact the Food Directorate electronically, please use the words "trisodium pyrophosphate" in the subject line of your e-mail.