Commercial Information Circular
24-hour hotline : 23 922 922
e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk
Ref. : EIC 230/2/12
19 January 2022
Dear Sirs,
Commercial Information Circular No. 71/2022
European Union (EU)* : Amendment to Annexes II and III to Regulation on Food Additive Titanium Dioxide (E 171)
Further to the Commercial Information Circular No. 203/2020 of 11 March 2020, the European Commission (the Commission) published the Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/63 (the Regulation) on 18 January 2022 to amend Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 regarding the use of titanium dioxide (E 171) as a food additive. The Regulation is available at:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32022R0063&from=EN.
2.On 6 May 2021, the European Food Safety Authority published a scientific opinion on the safety assessment of titanium dioxide (E 171) as a food additive and concluded that titanium dioxide (E 171) can no longer be considered safe when used as a food additive. Accordingly, the Commission has adopted the Regulation on 14 January 2022 to withdraw the authorisation to use the food additive titanium dioxide (E 171) in food products.
3.The Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication (i.e. on 7 February 2022). Until 7 August 2022, food produced in accordance with the rules applicable before 7 February 2022 may continue to be placed on the EU market. After 7 August 2022, they may remain on the market until their date of minimum durability or 'use by' date. For further details, please refer to the Commission Regulation.
4.For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at 2398 5556.
Yours faithfully,
(Miss Serena YUEN)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry
* The EU comprises of 27 member countries, namely, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
| Note 1 | While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same. |
| Note 2 | "Regulatory Alert - EU" of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council provides up-to-date information on the latest developments in EU trade policy and trade regulations. It is available at: https://research.hktdc.com/en/regulatory-alerts/eu. |