Food additives: over 300 substances, new opinion on E 962

EFSA maintains a public list of food additives. More than 300 substances are authorised for use in food across the European Union. The agency assessed most of them itself; the rest were evaluated earlier by the Scientific Committee on Food at the European Commission. Every additive has an E number. Vitamin C is E 300, pectin E 440, lycopene E 160d(ii), and lecithin E 322. Carmine (E 120) comes from scale insects. Calcium carbonate (E 170) comes from ground limestone. Synthetic lycopene is listed as E 160d(i).

Three legal acts set the framework. Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 lays down general requirements for the safe use of additives and contains the EU list of permitted substances with their conditions of use. Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 sets the specifications. Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 introduces a common approval procedure. Regulation (EU) No 257/2010 obliges EFSA to re-evaluate every additive authorised before 20 January 2009. The Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF) has operated within EFSA since July 2018.

What changed in 2026

The newest additives added to the EU list after EFSA assessment are E 960b (steviol glycosides from fermentation), E 345(i) (trimagnesium citrate), and E 267 (buffered vinegar). Older substances are also being re-evaluated. Recent rounds covered E 174 (silver) and esters of organic acids with mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids: E 472a, E 472b, E 472d, E 472e, E 472f, and E 472c.

Two dates in 2026 matter for everyday cooking. On 10 September, EFSA published its opinion on the re-evaluation of aspartame-acesulfame salt (E 962). The agency stated that the substance is safe at current consumer exposure levels. On 17 September, an opinion on rebaudioside M was published. Three days earlier, the agency released a scientific opinion from its review of a flavourings group (Flavouring Group Evaluation 216).

The EU and the United States

The European Commission notes in its material that an additive can enter food only if it has been approved and entered on the positive list. It must also serve a specific function: preserving, colouring, sweetening, protecting against oxidation, or improving baking quality. In February 2026, the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety published a fact sheet on the matter.

The United States keeps its own register. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains the inventory "Substances Added to Food", formerly known as EAFUS. It directs anyone asking about an additive's status to this list. The page carries an update date of 2 July 2024. The European and American lists are therefore two separate systems. The same compound can be permitted in one region and not in the other.

What consumers make of it

Germany's heise.de points to the other side of regulation: public opinion. Summarising food-related threads on its site, the outlet notes that reservations about modern food technologies remain widespread. These concerns cover taste, health, animal welfare, and sustainability. Differences in perception run along generational lines. The list of permitted additives is a technical document, but public reception follows its own logic.