Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Regulations 2(1) and 3(5)

SCHEDULE 2 Conditionally Permitted Preservatives and Antioxidants

Part A Sorbates, benzoates and p-hydroxybenzoates

EC No.	Name	Abbreviation
a (1) Benzoic acid may be present in certain fermented products resulting from the fermentation process following good manufacturing practice.
Notes 1. The levels of all substances mentioned above are expressed as the free acid. 2. The abbreviations used in the table mean the following: Sa + Ba: Sa and Ba used singly or in combination Sa + PHB: Sa and PHB used singly or in combination Sa + Ba + PHB: Sa, Ba and PHB used singly or in combination. 3. The maximum levels of use indicated refer to foods ready for consumption prepared following manfacturers' instructions.
E 200	Sorbic acid	Sa
E 202	Potassium sorbate	Sa
E 203	Calcium sorbate	Sa
E 210	Benzoic acid	Baa
E 211	Sodium benzoate	Baa
E 212	Potassium benzoate	Baa
E 213	Calcium benzoate	Baa
E 214	Ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate	PHB
E 215	Sodium ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate	PHB
E 216	Propyl p-hydroxybenzoate	PHB
E 217	Sodium propyl p-hydroxybenzoate	PHB
E 218	Methyl p-hydroxybenzoate	PHB
E 219	Sodium methyl p-hydroxybenzoate	PHB

	Maximum level (mg/kg or mg/l as appropriate)
Food	Sa	Ba	PHB	Sa + Ba	Sa + PHB	Sa + Ba + BHB
Wine-based flavoured drinks including products covered by Regulation (EEC) No. 1601/91(1)	200
Non-alcoholic flavoured drinks (excluding dairy-based drinks)	300	150		250 Sa + 150 Ba
Liquid tea concentrates and liquid fruit and herbal infusion concentrates				600
Grape Juice, unfermented, for sacramental use				2000
Wines as referred to in Regulation (EEC) No. 822/87(2); alcohol-free wine; fruit wine (including alcohol-free); made wine; cider and perry (including alcohol-free)	200
Sød . . . Saft or Sødet . . . Saft	500	200
Alcohol-free beer in keg		200
Mead Spirits with less than 15% alcohol by volume	200 200	200		400
Fillings of ravioli and similar products	1000
Low-sugar jams, jellies, marmalades and similar low calorie or sugar-free products and other fruit-based spreads;Mermeladas		500		1000
Candied, crystallised and glacé fruit and vegetablesMermeladas				1000
Dried fruit	1000Mermeladas
Frugtgrød and Rote Grütze	1000	500
Fruit and vegetable preparations including fruit-based sauces, excluding purée, mousse, compote, salads and similar products, canned or bottled	1000
Vegetables in vinegar, brine or oil (excluding olives)				2000
Potato dough and pre-fried potato slices	2000
Gnocchi	1000
Polenta	200
Olives and olive-based preparations	1000
Jelly coatings of meat products (cooked, cured or dried); Paté					1000
Surface treatment of dried meat products						quantum satis
Semi-preserved fish products including fish roe products				2000
Salted, dried fish				200
Shrimps, cooked				2000
Crangon crangon and Crangon vulgaris, cooked				6000
Cheese, pre-packed, sliced	1000
Unripened cheese	1000
Processed cheese	2000
Layered cheese and cheese with added foods	1000
Non-heat-treated dairy-based deserts				300
Curdled milk	1000
Liquid egg (white, yolk or whole egg)				5000
Dehydrated, concentrated, frozen and deep-frozen egg products	1000
Pre-packed sliced bread and rye-bread	2000
Partially baked, pre-packed bakery wares intended for retail sale	2000
Fine bakery wares with a water activity of more than 0.65	2000
Cereal- or potato-based snacks and coated nuts					1000 (max. 300 PHB)
Batters	2000
Confectionery (excluding chocolate)						1500 (max. 300 PHB)
Chewing gum				1500
Toppings (syrups for pancakes, flavoured syrups for milkshakes and ice cream; similar products)	1000
Fat emulsions (excluding butter) with a fat content of 60% or more	1000
Fat emulsions with a fat content less than 60%	2000
Emulsified sauces with a fat content of 60% or more	1000
Emulsified sauces with a fat content less than 60%	2000
Non-emulsified sauces				1000
Prepared salads				1500
Mustard				1000
Seasonings and condiments				1000
Liquid soups and broths (excluding canned)				500
Aspic	1000	500
Liquid dietary food supplements						2000
Dietetic foods intended for special medical purposes excluding foods for infants and young children as referred to in Directive 89/398/EEC — dietetic formulae for weight control intended to replace total daily food intake or an individual meal				1500

Part B Sulphur dioxide and sulphites

EC No.	Name
Notes 1. Maximum levels are expressed as SO2 in mg/kg or mg/l as appropriate and relate to the total quantity, available from all sources. 2. An SO2 content of not more than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/l is not considered to be present.
E 220	Sulphur dioxide
E 221	Sodium sulphite
E 222	Sodium hydrogen sulphite
E 223	Sodium metabisulphite
E 224	Potassium metabisulphite
E 226	Calcium sulphite
E 227	Calcium hydrogen sulphite
E 228	Potassium hydrogen sulphite

Food	Maximum level (mg/kg or mg/l as appropriate) expressed as SO2
Burger meat with a minimum vegetable and/or cereal content of 4%	450
Breakfast sausages Longaniza fresca and Butifarra fresca	450 450
Dried salted fish of the ‘Gadidae' species	200
Cruscaceans and cephalopods
— fresh, frozen and deep-frozen crustaceans, penaeidae solenceridae, aristeidae family:	150(3)
— up to 80 units	150(3)
— between 80 and 120 units	200(3)
— over 120 units	300(3)
— cooked	50(3)
Dry biscuit	50
Starches (excluding starches for weaning foods, follow-on furmulae and infant formulae)	50
Sago	30
Pearl barley	30
Dehydrated granulated potatoes	400
Cereal- and potato-based snacks	50
Peeled potatoes	50
Processed potatoes (including frozen and deep-frozen potatoes)	100
Potato dough	100
White vegetables, dried	400
White vegetables, processed (including frozen and deep-frozen white vegetables)	50
Dried ginger	150
Dried tomatoes	200
Horseradish pulp	800
Onion, garlic and shallot pulp	300
Vegetables and fruits in vinegar, oil or brine (except olives and golden peppers in brine)	100
Golden peppers in brine	500
Processed mushrooms (including frozen mushrooms)	50
Dried mushrooms	100
Dried fruits
— apricots, peaches, grapes, prunes and figs	2000
— bananas	1000
— apples and pears	600
— other (including nuts in shell)	500
Dried coconut	50
Candied, crystallised or glacé fruit, vegetables, angelica and citcus peel	100
Jam, jelly and marmalade as defined in Directive 79/693/EEC(4) (except extra jam and extra jelly) and other similar fruit spreads including low-calorie products	50
Jams, jellies and marmalades made with sulphited fruit	100
Fruit-based pie fillings	100
Citrus-juice-based seasonings	200
Concentrated grape juice for home wine-making	2000
Mostarda di frutta	100
Jellying fruit extract, liquid pectin for sale to the final consumer	800
Bottled whiteheart cherries, rehydrated dried fruit and lychees	100
Bottled, sliced lemon	250
Sugars as defined in Directive 73/437/EEC(5) except glucose syrup, whether or not dehydrated	15
Glucose syrup, whether or not dehydrated	20
Treacle and molasses	70
Other sugars	40
Toppings (syrups for pancakes, flavoured syrups for milkshakes and ice cream; similar products)	40
Orange, grapefruit, apple and pineapple juice for bulk dispensing in catering establishments	50
Lime and lemon juice	350
Concentrates based on fruit juice and containing not less than 2.5% barley (barley water)	350
Other concentrates based on fruit juice or comminuted fruit; capilé groselha	250
Non-alcoholic flavoured drinks containing fruit juice	20 (carry-over from concentrates only)
Non-alcoholic flavoured drinks containing at least 235 g/l glucose syrup	50
Grape juice, unfermented, for sacramental use	70
Glucose-syrup-based confectionery	50 (carry-over from the glucose syrup only)
Beer including low-alcohol and alcohol-free beer	20
Beer with a second fermentation in the cask	50
Wines	in accordance with Regulations (EEC) No. 822/87, (EEC) No. 4252/88(6), (EEC) No. 2332/92(7) and (EEC) No. 1873/84(8) and their implementing regulations; (pro memoria) in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No. 1873/84 authorising the offer or disposal for direct human consumption of certain imported wines which may have undergone oenological processes not provided for in Regulation (EEC) No. 337/79(9)
Alcohol-free wine	200
Made wine	260
Cider, perry, fruit wine, sparkling fruit wine (including alcohol-free products)	200
Mead	200
Fermentation vinegar	170
Mustard, excluding Dijon mustard Dijon mustard	250 500
Gelatin	50
Vegetable- and cereal-protein-based meat, fish and crustacean analogues	200

Part C Other preservatives

EC No.	Name	Food	Maximum level
E 230	Biphenyl, diphenyl	Surface treatment of citrus fruits	70 mg/kg
E 231	Orthophenyl phenol	Surface treatment of citrus fruits	12 mg/kg individually or in combination expressed as orthophenyl phenol
E 232	Sodium orthophenyl phenol	Surface treatment of citrus fruits	12 mg/kg individually or in combination expressed as orthophenyl phenol
E 233	Thiabendazole	Surface treatment of: citrus fruit bananas	6 mg/kg 3 mg/kg
E 234	Nisin(10)	Semolina and tapioca puddings and similar products	3 mg/kg
		Ripened cheese and processed cheese	12.5 mg/kg
		Clotted cream	10 mg/kg
E 235	Natamycin	Surface treatment of: hard, semi-hard and semi-soft cheese dried, cured sausages	1 mg/dm2 surface (not present at a depth of 5 mm)
E 239	Hexamethylene tetramine	Provolone cheese	25 mg/kg residual amount, expressed as formaldehyde
E 242	Dimethyl dicarbonate	Non-alcoholic flavoured drinks Alcohol-free wine Liquid-tea concentrate	250 mg/l ingoing amount, residues not detectable
E 284	Boric acid	Sturgeons' eggs (Caviar)	4g/kg expressed as boric acid
E 285	Sodium tetraborate (borax)	Sturgeons' eggs (Caviar)	4g/kg expressed as boric acid

EC No.	Name	Food	Indicative ingoing amount mg/kg	Residual amount mg/kg
			mg/kg	mg/kg
E 249 E 250	Potassium nitrite(11) Sodium nitrite(11)	Non-heat-treated, cured, dried meat products	150(12)	50(13)
		Other cured meat products Canned meat products Foie gras, foie gras entier, blocs de foie gras	150(12)	100(13)
		Cured bacon		175(13)
E 251 E 252	Sodium nitrate Potassium nitrate	Cured meat products Canned meat products	300	250((14)
		Hard, semi-hard and semi-soft cheese Dairy-based cheese analogue		50(14)
		Pickled herring and sprat		200(15)

EC No.	Name	Food	Maximum level
E 280	Propionic acid(16)
E 281	Sodium propionate(16)
E 282	Calcium propionate(16)
E 283	Potassium propionate(16)	Pre-packed sliced bread and rye bread	3000 mg/kg expressed as propionic acid
		Energy reduced bread Partially baked, pre-packed bread Pre-packed fine bakery wares (including flour confectionery) with a water activity of more than 0.65 Pre-packed Rolls, buns and pitta	2000 mg/kg expressed as propionic acid
		Christmas pudding Pre-packed bread	1000 mg/kg expressed as propionic acid
E 1105	Lysozyme	Ripened cheese	quantum satis

Part D Other antioxidants

EC No.	Name	Food	Maximum level (mg/kg)
E 310 E 311 E 312 E 320 E 321	Propyl gallate Octyl gallate Dodecyl gallate Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)	Fats and oils for the professional manufacture of heat-treated foods Frying oil and frying fat, excluding olive pomace oil Lard; fish oil; beef, poultry and sheep fat	200(17) (gallates and BHA, individually or in combination) 100(17) (BHT) both expressed on fat
		Cake mixes	200 (gallates and BHA, individually or in combination
		Cereal-based snack foods
		Milk powder for vending machines
		Dehydrated soups and broths	expressed on fat
		Sauces
		Dehydrated meat
		Processed nuts
		Seasonings and condiments
		Pre-cooked cereals
		De-hydrated granulated potatoes	25 (gallates and BHA, individually or in combination)
		Chewing gum Dietary supplements	400 (gallates, BHT and BHA, individually or in combination)
E 315	Erythorbic acid	Semi-preserved and preserved meat products	500 expressed as erythorbic acid
E 315	Erythorbic acid	Preserved and semi-preserved fish products Frozen and deep-frozen fish with red skin	1500 expressed as erythorbic acid
E 316	Sodium erythorbate	Semi-preserved and preserved meat products	500 expressed as erythorbic acid
E 316	Sodium erythorbate	Preserved and semi-preserved fish products Frozen and deep-frozen fish with red skin	1500 expressed as erythorbic acid

(1)

O.J. No. L149, 14.6.91, pp. 1-9

(2)

O.J. No. L84, 27.3.87, p. 1

(3)

In edible parts

(4)

O.J. No. L205, 13.8.79, p. 5

(5)

O.J. No. L356, 27.12.73, p. 71

(6)

O.J. No. L373, 31.12.88, p. 59

(7)

O.J. No. L231, 13.8.92, p. 1

(8)

O.J. No. L176, 3.7.84, p. 6

(9)

O.J. No. L54, 5.3.79, p. 1

(10)

This substance may be present naturally in certain cheeses as a result of fermentation processes

(11)

When labelled ‘for food use', nitrite may only be sold in a mixture with salt or a salt substitute

(12)

Expressed as NaNO₂ Back [12]

(13)

Residual amount at point of sale to the final consumer, expressed as NaNO₂ Back [13]

(14)

Expressed as NaNO₃ Back [14]

(15)

Residual amount nitrite formed from nitrate included, expressed as NaNO₂ Back [15]

(16)

Propionic acid and its salts may be present in certain fermented products resulting from the fermentation process following good manufacturing practice

(17)

When combinations of gallates, BHA and BHT are used, the individual levels must be reduced proportionally