Food enzymes

Aġġornata:

5 May 2023

3 minuti qari

Most enzymes are proteins that help speed up the metabolism, or the chemical reactions in our bodies. For example, they break down food aiding digestion, transform chemical energy into mechanical energy enabling muscle contraction, help build tissues and eliminate waste. Deficiency in a particular enzyme may lead to the development of diseases.

Enzymes have been used for centuries in food production, e.g. for cheese making, beer brewing and dough leavening. For a long time, their biochemical properties were unknown. In the twentieth century, enzymes began to be isolated from living cells, which led to their wider application in the food sector.

Enzymes can be obtained from plants, animals or microorganisms through relatively simple extraction processes. However, nowadays most enzymes used in industrial food processing are obtained by fermentation from microorganisms through more elaborate extraction processes.

They perform a technological function for a wide range of raw materials during the processing of food commodities or food ingredients. Examples include the breakdown of cell walls of fruits to help extract juices, or to convert starch into sugars during alcohol production.

The industrial extraction of food enzymes and their increasing application in food processing call for their safety assessment.

Milestones

2023
EFSA publishes guidance on the exposure assessment of food enzymes. The document explains how applicants can estimate dietary exposure to food enzymes, and complements scientific guidance published in 2021.
2021
EFSA updates its scientific guidance document on the submission of food enzyme dossiers for safety evaluation. It supersedes the one published in 2009.
2016-2022
EFSA launches 41 calls for data to enable dietary exposure estimation using actual consumption data.
2016
EFSA updates the methodology applied to the exposure assessment of food enzymes.
2009
EFSA publishes its first guidance document on the submission of a dossier on food enzymes for safety evaluation.

EFSA's role

EFSA is responsible for evaluating the safety of enzymes used in food and feed. Our assessments of enzymes used in animal feed also consider their efficacy.

Our scientific advice is taken into account by the European Commission and national authorities, when they decide whether or not to approve new enzymes and/or changes in their conditions of use.

EFSA has two main functions in relation to food enzymes:

Evaluating all enzymes currently marketed or intended to be marketed in the EU during a submission period defined by EU legislation.
Assessing applications for the authorisation of new enzymes after an EU list of approved enzymes has been established.

EU framework

The Regulation on food enzymes, Regulation EC No 1332/2008, harmonises the provisions on the use of food enzymes in the EU. According to that regulation, all food enzymes must be subject to a safety evaluation by EFSA and then approved by the European Commission. Approved food enzymes will be included in the EU list of food enzymes.

There is currently no Union list of authorised food enzymes. This will be established once the evaluations are finalised. For the time being, the placing on the market and the use of food enzymes and of food produced with food enzymes are subject to national legislation.