Thailand Proposes to Revise the Regulation Regarding the Use of Food Additives

The proposed revisions to Thailand’s regulation on the use of food additives involve the addition of new food additives varieties, modification of the maximum usage level in food, expansion and deletion of permitted application scope, as well as removal of some food additives.

On July 4, 2024, Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consulted on the proposed amendments to MOPH Notification No. 444 Re: Prescribing the Principle, Conditions, Methods, and Proportion of Food Additives (No.3). Any comments can be sent back prior to October 15, 2024.

Thai FDA regularly reviews the regulation on the use of food additives every two years on average, so as to make the regulations consistent with the practical production and protect consumers safety effectively. The revision this time is mainly based on the recent safety evaluation results, which includes the following aspects:

1. Addition of new food additives varieties

Food additive	INS No.	Function
β-Carotene-rich extract from Dunaliella Salina	160a(iv)	Colorant
Jagua Blue	183	Colorant
Spirulina extract	134	Colorant

Table 1 Food additives newly included (excerpts）

2. Modification of the maximum usage level in food

Food additive	INS No.	Food category No.	Food category	Usage level in the draft (mg/kg)	Usage level in MOPH Notification No. 444 (mg/kg)
Carotenal, beta-apo-8'-	160e	01.6.2.1	Ripened cheese, includes rind	12	100
		01.6.2.2	Rind of ripened cheese	50	500
		01.6.2.3	Cheese powder	15	100
Allura Red AC	129	02.4	Fat-based desserts	150	300
		07.1.2	Crackers, excluding sweet crackers	100	300
		12.5	Soups and broths	100	300

Table 2 Maximum usage changes of food additives (excerpts）

3. Expansion of permitted application scope

Food additive	INS No.	Expanded food category No.	Expanded food category
Tartrazine	102	01.3.2	Beverage whiteners
		07.1.1.1	Yeast-leavened breads and specialty breads
		07.1.1.2	Soda breads
Azorubine	122	07.1.2	Crackers, excluding sweet crackers
Azorubine	122	07.1.3	Other ordinary bakery products

Table 3 Food additives with expanded scope (excerpts）

4. Deletion of permitted application scope

Food additive	INS No.	Removed food category No.	Removed food category
Carotenal, beta-apo-8'-	160e	01.1.4	Flavoured fluid milk drinks
		01.3.2	Beverage whiteners
		01.4.4	Cream analogues
Tartrazine	102	01.6.1	Unripened cheese
Tartrazine	102	01.6.4	Processed cheese
Azorubine	122	01.6.2.2	Rind of ripened cheese

Table 4 Removed permitted application scope of food additives (excerpts）

5. Removal of some food additives

According to the draft, azodicarbonamide (INS 927a), ortho-Phenylphenol (INS 231), sodium ortho-phenylphenol (INS 232) can no longer be used in food in Thailand.