Processing aid

A processing aid is a substance used in the production of processed food, and which may end up in the finished product, but which is not, by law, required to be disclosed to the consumer as an ingredient.[1][2]

Ethical concerns

NGOs, journalists, and food writers have raised concerns that the current laws on processing aids amount to a loophole that enables food producers to avoid transparency, and thereby to deceive consumers as to the contents of their food.[1][3][4][5][6][7]

Jurisdictions

United Kingdom

Under the United Kingdom food labelling regulations, a "processing aid" is defined as follows:[8]

"Processing aid" means any substances not consumed as a food by itself, intentionally used in the processing of raw materials, foods or their ingredients, to fulfil a certain technological purpose during treatment or processing, and which may result in the unintentional but technically unavoidable presence of residues of the substance or its derivatives in the final product, provided that these residues do not present any health risk and do not have any technological effect on the finished product.

United States of America

Under the law of the United States of America, a substance is legally a "processing aid" and can be excluded from ingredients labels if it meets any of the following criteria:[9]

1. It is added to the food but later removed. E.g. activated charcoal, which removes certain impurities.

2. It is added to the food, but gets converted into a substance already present in the food. E.g. a pH adjuster that converts to salt and does not significantly add to the food's salt level.

3. It is added for a technical effect during processing but is not present at "significant" levels in the food. E.g. a preservative added to an ingredient, like anti-caking agent sodium silicoaluminate in the seasoning of some sausages.

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References
  1. Blythman, Joanna (21 February 2015). "Inside the food industry: the surprising truth about what you eat". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  2. "Processing Aids Used in Modern Food Production". International Food Information Council. 23 May 2014. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  3. "Bread Labelling Transparency". Sustainweb.org. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  4. "Processing aids". Sustainweb.org. doi:10.1016/j.jcs.2007.05.004. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  5. Andrew Whitley (2011-08-17). Bread Matters: The State of Modern Bread and a Definitive Guide to Baking ... Books.google.co.uk. p. 14. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  6. Oliver Nieburg (2011-10-19). "Federation of Bakers and Real Bread Campaign at odds over labelling of bread processing aids". Bakeryandsnacks.com. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  7. Bee Wilson (2010-10-15). Sandwich: A Global History. Books.google.co.uk. p. 55. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  8. Jukes, David. "'Processing Aid' Definition". Foodlaw-Reading. University of Reading. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  9. Andrews, James (10 June 2013). "Processing Aids: What's Not on the Label, and Why?". Food Safety News. Archived from the original on 2015-02-15. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
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