This joint FAO/WHO report, part of the WHO Food Additives Series (No. 91), contains the monographs from the one-hundredth meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), held at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, from 10 to 19 June 2025. JECFA is the international scientific body that evaluates the safety of food additives, contaminants, and residues to advise FAO, WHO, and the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Committee conducted full toxicological, biochemical, and dietary-exposure evaluations for seven specific food additives, amyloglucosidase, ascorbyl palmitate, carob bean gum, Gardenia (Genipin) Blue, glycolipids, rosemary extract, and thaumatin II, and summarized updated dietary-exposure assessments for two more, adipates and dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, establishing or revising Acceptable Daily Intakes (ADIs) and specifications as warranted.
Key Insights
Jointly issued by FAO and WHO as WHO Food Additives Series No. 91, based on JECFA's one-hundredth meeting, held in Rome, Italy, 10-19 June 2025.
Gardenia (Genipin) Blue, a new colourant evaluated for the first time, received a new Acceptable Daily Intake of 0-7 mg/kg body weight per day, with no genotoxicity or carcinogenicity concerns identified.
Ascorbyl palmitate's previous specific ADI of 0-1.25 mg/kg body weight was withdrawn and replaced with a group ADI of "not specified," based on rapid hydrolysis to ascorbic and palmitic acid, both normal dietary components.
Rosemary extract's previous temporary ADI of 0-0.3 mg/kg body weight was withdrawn and a full ADI of 0-0.6 mg/kg body weight established, following new benchmark-dose modelling of a thyroid-hormone study in rat pups.
Carob bean gum's previously established ADI of "not specified" was confirmed as appropriate, based on a new neonatal minipig study showing an adequate margin of exposure for infant formula use.
Glycolipids, a new antimicrobial preservative for non-alcoholic beverages derived from fermentation of the jelly mushroom Dacryopinax spathularia, received an ADI of "not specified," since its hydrolysis products are normal dietary components.
Thaumatin II, a recombinant sweetener produced in tobacco plant seeds, was assigned a group ADI of "not specified" covering both natural thaumatin and the recombinant form, based on amino-acid sequence identity.
Amyloglucosidase from Rasamsonia emersonii expressed in Aspergillus niger had its temporary ADI "not specified" confirmed as a full ADI "not specified" after a digestibility study showed rapid gastric breakdown.
Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate's existing ADI of 0-0.1 mg/kg body weight, set in 1995, was reaffirmed, with the Committee concluding that its use in soft drinks and fruit-flavoured desserts does not pose a safety concern.
For adipates, dietary exposure estimates greatly exceeded the existing group ADI of 0-5 mg/kg body weight under some scenarios, and the Committee recommended an updated toxicological re-evaluation.
Specifications were finalized (removing tentative status) for alpha-amylase, asparaginase, beta-amylase, and xylanase, with revised specifications also issued for gellan gum.
All experts participating in the meeting completed declaration of interest forms, and no conflicts of interest were identified.
