Consumer Information

Who We Are

• FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety
  (Food Safety Magazine, December 2002-January 2003)
• Mission Statement

Antimicrobial Agents

• Bacteria-Eating Virus Approved as Food Additive
  (FDA Consumer magazine, January-February 2007)

Benzene

• Benzene in Beverages
  (FDA Consumer magazine, September-October 2006)
• Letter Regarding Benzene Levels in Soft Drinks March 21, 2006
• Questions and Answers on Benzene in Soft Drinks and Beverages July 12, 2007
• Data on Benzene in Soft Drinks and Other Beverages July 12, 2007

Food and Color Additives

• Food Ingredients and Colors November 2004
  (also available in PDF (959 KB) for printing)

Fat Substitutes

• Fat Substitutes
  (FDA Consumer, December 1990)
• Olestra
  (FDA Backgrounder, November 28, 1995)
• Olestra approved
  (HHS News, January 24, 1996)
• FDA Changes Labeling Requirement for Olestra
  (FDA Talk Paper, August 1, 2003)
  • Food Additives Permitted for Direct Addition to Food for Human Consumption; Olestra
    (Federal Register Final Rule Olestra Labeling, August 5, 2003)

Food Irradiation

• Irradiation of Food and Food Packaging

Food Packaging

• Regulatory Report: FDA's Food Contact Substance Notification
  (Food Safety Magazine, October-November 2005)
• Regulatory Report: Assessing the Safety of Food Contact Substances
  (Food Safety Magazine, August-September 2007)
• Plastics and the Microwave
  (FDA Consumer, November-December 2002)
• Letter to Manufacturers and Suppliers of Soft Vinyl Lunchboxes July 2006

GRAS

• GRAS: Time-Tested, and Trusted, Food Ingredients
  (FDA Consumer magazine, March-April 2004)

MSG

• MSG: A Common Flavor Enhancer
  (FDA Consumer, January - February 2003)
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
  (FDA Backgrounder, August 31, 1995)

Preservatives

• A Fresh Look at Preservatives
  (FDA Consumer, October 1993)

Sweeteners

• Artificial Sweeteners: No Calories ... Sweet!
  (FDA Consumer magazine, July - August 2006)
• FDA Approves New Non-Nutritive Sugar Substitute Neotame
  (FDA Talk Paper, July 5, 2002)
• Sugar Substitutes: Americans Opt for Sweetness and Lite
  (FDA Consumer, November - December 1999)

Sulfites

• Sulfites: Safe for Most, Dangerous for Some
  (FDA Consumer, December 1996)
• Sulfites: An Important Food Safety Issue
  (Food Safety Magazine, August-September 2000)

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