12 May 2006 - Norway used to regulate colourings, sweeteners and nitrite/nitrate different than the EC countries. In 2001 Norway implemented the EC Directives on food additives, and today the there is no difference between the food additives legislation in Norway and the EC Member States.
Current situation
Norway has implemented all current EC Directives on food additives into our national legislation (regulation 21 December 1993 No 1378 on food additives for use in foodstuffs).
This means that all food additives authorised for use in an EU Member State are authorised for use in Norway as well. There is a delay whenever an amendment to the EC food additives legislation is adopted in the EC before it gets to be a part of the Norwegian legislation. This is due to procedure. The EC legislation must be adopted by the EEA Committee before it can be part of the Norwegian legislation.
There is however a difference in the structure of the legislation. The EC Directives are organized by substances whilst the Norwegian regulation is organized in food categories. The food categories are, with a few exceptions, similar to Annex B Food Category System - of the Codex' General Standard for Food Additives (CX STAN 192).
Before the implementation of the EC Directives the Norwegian Scientific Committe for Food reviewed the risk assessments and more recent studies for the food additives Norway where had some concerns. In general the EC legislation were considered to be acceptable. However, Norway asked for some exceptions and they are described later in this text.
Previous situation
Before the implementation of the EC Directives on food additives the Norwegian legislation deviated from the EC directives in four main areas; added/residual amonts, colourings, sweeteners and nitrite/nitrate.
Added/residual amounts
Norway regulated added amounts of food additives in food, whilst the EC legislation generally regulate the residual amounts in the final food. In general residual amounts in the food is more convenient both for the industry and the authority to manage, but not for nitrite/nitrate.
Colourings
In 1978 Norway banned the use of synthetic colourings in food in general. The reason was that information on the possible risk for hypersensitivity towards synthetic colourings like the "azo colourings" among children. In addition the use of synthetic colourings were not considered to be necessary in foods.
Colourings are frequently used in products that are not prepackaged. Such products do not have to be labelled, according to the EC Labelling Directive. To provide the consumer the possibility to make an informed choice, Norway decided that all products on the National market must label the food additives, prepackaged or not.
Sweeteners
The regulation of sweeteners in Norway were more strict than the EC legislation. Intake studies showed that the intake of sweeteners were well within the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI), with the exception of cyclamates (from table top sweeteners). In 2000 the Scientific Committe for Food (SCF) establised an full ADI of 7 mg/kg bw/day, which was lower than the temporary ADI used as basis for the use levels in the EC Directive on sweeteners.
Norway implemented the legislation for sweeteners, but asked the Commision for permission to maintain national legislation on cyclamates until the use levels for cyclamates was changed in the EC. The Commission gave permission for this. The EC legislation was changed in 2003, and Norway then implemented the EC legislation on cyclamates as well.
Nitrite/nitrate
In 1978, Norway banned the use of nitrite/nitrate. Later, nitrite was authorised as a food additive in some meat products, cheese and pickled herring.
The EC legislation on nitrite authorises quite higher levels in foods and the use in more products. The main issue is still that the EC legislation regulates the residual nitrite/nitrate level in the food. Norway supported (and still supports) to regulated added amounts. The reason for this is that nitrite is rapidly broken down in the food. The residual level in the final food does not say much about the added amounts. At the same time, nitrite may be converted to possibly cancerogenic nitrosamines. An opinion issued by SCF in 1995 said that the residual amounts of nitrites permitted by the EC legislation were much higher than those to be expected fromt he maximum levels of added nitrats and nitrites reported to technologically necessary.
Norway requested the permission to to maintain national legislation on nitrite, based on the SCF opinion, but the request was turned down. Norway then implemented the EC legislation, but chose to support Denmark in their Intervention against the Commission with regard to nitrite. Denmark and Norway were given support by the EC Court. The Commission asked for a new opinion by the European Food Safety Authority, and has now proposed a change in the EC legislation for nitrite/nitrate. The proposal is to regulate the added amount of nitrite/nitrate in food, except for a few products.
Why did Norway implement the EC legislation on food additives?
Norway became a member of the European Economic Area in 1995. The EEA agreement is between the EFTA countries (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and the countries of the Europan Community . As a part of that agreement, Norway may participate in EC meetings where the legislation is developed (not in the Council and the Parliament). Further on, Norway is committed to implement the EC legislation that is developed in those meetings.