TBA, 9 to 18 June 2026
List of substances scheduled for evaluation and request for data
Attached is the list of substances (Annex 1) scheduled for evaluation or re-evaluation at the 102nd meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). This list has been prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Secretariat of the Committee and is based on recommendations of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA), previous Expert Committees, and direct requests from governments, other interested organizations, and producers of substances that have been evaluated previously. The meeting will be held as a physical meeting in Rome, Italy.
Submission of data
Annex 1 lists the food additives to be considered at the meeting. Governments, interested organizations, producers of these chemicals, and individuals are invited to submit data for the toxicological evaluations, for the preparation of specifications for the identity and purity, and for estimating the intake of the compounds that are listed. The submitted data may be published or unpublished and should contain detailed reports of laboratory studies, including individual animal data. Reference to relevant published studies should also be provided, where applicable. Summaries in the form of monographs are helpful, but they are not in themselves sufficient for evaluation.
Unpublished confidential studies that are submitted will be safeguarded and will be used only for evaluation purposes by JECFA. Summaries of the studies will be published by FAO and WHO after the meetings in the form of specifications and toxicological monographs.
The Secretariats of JECFA at FAO and WHO encourage submission of data in electronic format. Such data should be presented preferably using standard word processing or document formats, and need to include a “Table of contents” using fully descriptive file names. For large volume submissions or for any questions related to data submissions please contact the Secretariat.
Date for submission
The submission of data on those compounds listed in Annex 1 is requested before
31 December 2025
This deadline applies to all data including those for specifications for food additives.
Toxicological data
Data relevant to the toxicological evaluations of the substances on the agenda including the results of:
- metabolism and pharmacokinetic studies;
- short-term toxicity, long-term toxicity/carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, and developmental toxicity studies in animals and genotoxicity studies;
- epidemiological studies; and
- special studies designed to investigate specific effects, such as the mechanism of toxicity, immune responses, or macromolecular binding.
This information needs to be submitted electronically (preferred) to WHO JECFA Secretariat. Please send an email to jecfa@who.int and request an individual SharePoint folder link for uploading data package. If an electronic submission is not possible, please contact us for alternative deliveries:
Attention:
Kim Petersen
Department of Nutrition and Food Safety
World Health Organization
Avenue Appia
1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
Telephone: +41 (0)79 728 7487
E-mail: jecfa@who.int
Technological data
Data relevant to the manufacturing, quality, use, occurrence, identification and quantification of the substances on the agenda including:
- specifications for the identity and purity of the listed food additives (specifications applied during development and toxicological studies; proposed specifications for material in commerce);
- technological and nutritional considerations relating to the manufacture and use of the listed food additives;
- levels of the listed food additives used in food or expected to be used in food based on technological function and the range of foods in which they are used; and
- analytical techniques used by manufacturers or authorities for identifying and quantifying the listed substances.
The information needs to be submitted electronically to jecfa@fao.org. If an electronic submission is not possible, please contact us for alternative deliveries:
Attention:
Dr Markus Lipp
Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division
Telephone: +39 06 5705 3283
E-mail: jecfa@fao.org
Dietary exposure assessment data
For additives, all data relevant to:
- technical levels of use of the additive in the foods in which it may be used;
- annual poundage of the additive introduced into the food supply;
- estimation of additive intakes based on food consumption data for foods in which the additive may be used; and
- food consumption patterns; also considering different (age-) population groups.
This information should be sent to FAO at jecfa@fao.org and to WHO at jecfa@who.int.
Presentation of data
Please note that the above lists are not meant to be all-inclusive since it is recognized that other studies may, in some instances, assist in the evaluation.
Procedures for the evaluation of chemicals in food were updated and published by FAO and WHO (Principles and methods for the risk assessment of chemicals in food – Environmental Health Criteria No. 240), available at https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241572408.
Specific guidance on the evaluation of and data needs for food additives are also available from FAO and WHO (see http://www.fao.org/food-safety/scientific-advice/jecfa/jecfa-guidelines/en/ and https://www.who.int/groups/joint-fao-who-expert-committee-on-food-additives-(jecfa)/procedural-guidance).
All relevant data, both positive and negative, should be submitted. Data should be presented, summarized and referenced in a clear and concise manner.
This call for data is available at both the FAO and WHO web sites:
http://www.fao.org/food-safety/scientific-advice/calls-for-data-and-experts-expert-rosters/en/
https://www.who.int/groups/joint-fao-who-expert-committee-on-food-additives-(jecfa)/calls-for-data