Where the two committees differ

Two scientific committees assess food additives for much of the world. The European Food Safety Authority advises the European Union; the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives advises Codex, and through it a great many national regulators. They assess the same substances and do not always reach the same number.

Both have set an acceptable daily intake for 99 additives here. They agree on 27, set different figures on 35, and on 37 the two conclusions are not comparable figures at all.

A lower figure is not a finding that the other committee was wrong. An acceptable daily intake is a reference value — an amount judged safe to consume daily over a lifetime — not a threshold above which harm begins. The two bodies work to different terms of reference, revise on their own timetables, and sometimes assess different data: several differences below are simply a 2016 opinion beside a 1990 one. This site sets them side by side and chooses between them nowhere.

The 35 substances they differ on

Each committee's most recent acceptable daily intake, in mg per kg of body weight per day, with the year it was set. Ordered by how far apart the figures are.
AdditiveEFSAJECFAApartLower
White mineral oil1220120.0120021200×JECFA
Nisin preparation0.13—2202415×EFSA
Diacetyltartaric and fatty acid esters of glycerol600202050200312×JECFA
Polydimethylsiloxane1720201.5201111×JECFA
Lauric arginate ethyl ester0.5—420088×EFSA
Metatartaric acid24020203020178×JECFA
Sodium potassium tartrate24020203019738×JECFA
Sodium tartrate24020203019738×JECFA
Quinoline yellow0.52015320166×EFSA
Ponceau 4R (Cochineal red A)0.7—420115.7×EFSA
Brilliant black (Black PN)5—120195×JECFA
Benzoic acid520162020214×EFSA
Potassium benzoate520162020214×EFSA
Sodium benzoate520162020214×EFSA
Amaranth0.15—0.519843.3×EFSA
Hydrogenated poly-1-decenes202020620013.3×JECFA
Polyglycerol esters of interesterified ricinoleic acid25—7.519733.3×JECFA
Propylene glycol esters of fatty acids8020182519733.2×JECFA
Propyl gallate0.5—1.419962.8×EFSA
Butylated hydroxyanisole120180.519882×JECFA
Caramel III - ammonia caramel100201120019852×EFSA
Carmines2.52015520002×EFSA
Calcium saccharin92024519931.8×JECFA
Potassium saccharin92024519931.8×JECFA
Saccharin9—519931.8×JECFA
Sodium saccharin92024519931.8×JECFA
Acesulfame potassium920161519901.7×EFSA
Sodium nitrite0.120170.0720021.4×JECFA
Sucroglycerides40—3019971.3×JECFA
Sucrose esters of fatty acids40—3019971.3×JECFA
Propylene glycol alginate5520187019931.3×EFSA
Butylated hydroxytoluene0.25—0.319951.2×EFSA
Calcium ferrocyanide0.0320180.02519741.2×JECFA
Potassium ferrocyanide0.03—0.02519741.2×JECFA
Yellow prussiate of soda0.0320180.02519741.2×JECFA

Where a committee has revisited a substance, the most recent evaluation stating an intake is the one shown; the others are on the additive's own page. Units are reconciled where the two write the same unit differently, and a figure stated on another basis — “as total polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan esters” — is never set against a plain one.

What is covered

  • EFSA — reference values on 126 additives here
  • JECFA — reference values on 371 additives here

Not every additive has been given an intake by either body, and an absence is not a finding. A committee sets a numerical intake when it judges one necessary; “not specified” and “not limited” are positive conclusions that no numerical limit is needed, and they are shown in those words rather than as a blank or a number.

EFSA values from OpenFoodTox, retrieved 2026-09-20, CC BY-ND 4.0. JECFA values from the WHO Evaluations of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives database, retrieved 2026-09-20 — © WHO; the figures, the committee meeting and the year are recorded and every page is linked back to WHO's own entry, and no evaluation text is reproduced. See Sources, the glossary, and the method.