To the question “can this be used in food?”, we answer by showing where on the register it appears. Legal standing is not a matter of interpretation; it is settled by matching against the official registers.
1. The registers we match against
| Register | Entries | Governing law |
|---|---|---|
| Designated additives | 476 | Food Sanitation Act |
| Existing additives | 327 | Food Sanitation Act (existing additives list) |
| Feed additives | FAMIC published | Feed Safety Act |
2. Three ways the match goes wrong
(1) Spelling splits the register
The same substance can sit on different registers under different spellings. In Japanese, β-carotene written one way appears on the feed-additive register, and written another on the designated-additive register. Searching one spelling alone produces a false “not listed”.
(2) The salt form changes the standing
L-cysteine appears on neither the designated nor the existing additive register, while L-cysteine hydrochloride is a designated additive. Free base and salt are treated differently, so a change of form calls for a fresh check.
(3) Listed for both human and animal use
Taurine is an existing additive and a feed additive at the same time. L-carnitine and monosodium L-glutamate also appear on the feed register under “amino acids and related substances”. Which law applies, and which documents are required, depends on whether the finished product is for people or animals — tell us the application and we prepare the right specification from the start.
3. Where a function claim is intended
The first fork is whether the material can be identified as the functional ingredient. A generic item name cannot carry a notification.
- Strain identity — all 208 notifications for spore-forming lactic acid bacteria carry a strain designation; none lack one (SANK70258 in 194, lilac-01 in 10)
- Which genus revision — the genus of the same organism has moved Bacillus → Weizmannia → Heyndrickxia, and all three coexist in the record with overlapping periods. Searching by genus misses filings (89 under Bacillus alone; 208 in total)
- Botanical source — glucosylceramide is notified separately as pineapple-, rice- and konjac-derived
- Content basis — free versus ester for lutein, anthocyanins versus anthocyanidins for bilberry. Without it the dose cannot be set
We hold the Consumer Affairs Agency’s notification database and can show how comparable notifications are actually built — counts, doses and claim wording, counted on live filings with withdrawals excluded.
4. Allergen labelling
The revision of 1 April 2026 added cashew nut to the specified raw materials (mandatory labelling), bringing that list to nine, and pistachio to the equivalent list (recommended labelling), bringing it to twenty. On the sourcing side the work is updating the allergen field on specifications and confirming line cross-contact.
The same item name can carry a different declaration depending on source. Glucosamine differs between crustacean-derived and fermentation-derived; gelatin between porcine, bovine and fish.
5. Imported materials
We take in the published import violation records (1,682 cases) and track the pattern relevant to our items. Most violations concern control rather than the material, and we advise on whether a given risk is one the choice of material can remove.
Documents we provide
- Regulatory check — standing on each register, with the source used
- Notification data — counts, doses and claim wording on a live-filing basis
- Allergen information — the declaration category implied by the source
- Specification and COA
Note: responsibility for the final label and for the notification rests with the notifying party. We provide and verify information on the material side.
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