Food additives and flavourings: Analysis of EU RASFF Notifications from 2000 to 2022

Food additives are increasingly used in processed foods worldwide, resulting in rising health exposure. Herin, 3338 Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) notifications related to food additives from 2000-2022 were analyzed to identify the notification evolution, the most notified origin countries, the most notified product categories, products and hazards, and actions taken. Fruits and vegetables accounted for 26.6% of all notifications, driven by sulfite (70%). Crustaceans accounted for 14.7% of all notifications, also mainly due to sulfite (92.8%). The top 5 notified products were shrimps (12.0%), apricots (11.1%), soft drinks (4.4%), jelly cups (3.4%), and food supplements (3.2%), while the top 5 hazards were sulfite (40.6%), benzoic acid (9.4%), sunset yellow (6.7%), tartrazine (5.0%), and erythrosine (4.5%) of all notifications. Re-dispatching (17.9%), withdrawals (15.2%), and destructions (11.2%) were the most common actions taken. Hazard Index estimation showed sulfites posed potential health risks in certain high-exposure scenarios. Many notifications regarding processed food products contain one or more additives and flavouring that exceed the permissible limits and consumers should be aware of these foodstuffs to avoid excessive exposure. We recommend further research is needed to assess if exposure to multiple additives and flavourings has synergistic, additive, or antagonistic effects on human health.