The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee Report on Food Additives

The Joint FAO / WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (English Joint FAO / WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives - JECFA) was on a joint conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization ( WHO) in September 1955 in Geneva ( Switzerland ) launched.

The aim of the expert committee is to assess the hazards of food additives and to make recommendations for their use. This includes specifications of the purity of the additives as well as the maximum allowed daily dose.

In addition to collecting information on food additives also own investigations are carried out.

The Commission meets normally at least once a year since 1956 at different locations.

The JECFA has summarized the reports from 1956 to 2000 in a database.

The equivalent for the European Union 's Scientific Committee on Food, which is subject to an EU Council.