U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) has launched the 6th edition of the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC), a compendium of internationally recognized standards that helps to assure the safety of ingredients in foods produced every day — including preservatives, flavorings, colorings and nutrients.
The FCC allows manufacturers of food, food chemicals and food additives to comply with rigorous, science-based standards of food quality that have been created by USP to ensure consumer safety. It will be the first edition published by USP, having been previously published by the Institute of Medicine.
USP is the official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements manufactured and sold in the United States, and the FCC represents USP’s first step in standards-setting for food safety.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) focuses on the enforcement side of food and drug safety, while USP focuses on the front-end, standards-setting side of food and drug safety.
FCC is recognized in law in countries like Canada, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand and most of Latin America; the United States currently does not require foods to meet its (or any compendium’s) standards. However, USP is working with food manufacturers to gain adherence to these standards and take another step towards assuring food safety and quality in the U.S.