The Food Standards Committee (FSC) has used the results of chemical and toxicological tests from all over the world, including some carried out in Australia, to recommend to the regulatory authorities those substances which may be added to foods, the foods to which they may be added, and the maximum levels which should be permitted both for those additives and for many contaminants, including residues of agricultural chemicals, which may find their way into foods offered for sale in Australia. The work of this committee has profoundly affected food technology in this country by forcing changes such as the deletion of some additives long used, e.g., certain colours, the reduction of limits for others, e.g., some preservatives and heavy metals such as mercury and lead, and the imposition of stringent limits for previously unsuspected contaminants, e.g., aflatoxin in peanuts.[149] The whole subject of trace metal detection, measurement and control was revolutionized by the atomic absorptiometer, an Australian invention.
Taken from TIA. |
