This proposal has been prepared by the Advisory Working Group on Food Additives (03 February 2021, Exempt Decree No. 08, Ministry of Health). For its preparation, a “Food Classification System” has been established based on the principles of the Codex Alimentarius, adapting some of its headings, definitions and examples to the national reality and specifically to the provisions of DS 977/96, in order to allow the use of food additives in each food category.

The descriptors of the food categories established in the Technical Standard on Food Additives are not intended to be legal designations of the products for labeling, but serve to validate the additives and limits that are allowed in them. Likewise, the Food Category System is hierarchical in nature, which means that when the use of an additive is recognized in a general category, such use is recognized in all its subcategories, unless otherwise indicated.