Should Rosemary Extract Be Allowed as a Food Preservative?
Official title: Proposal to modify the List of Permitted Preservatives to authorize the use of rosemary extract
Health Canada wants to allow rosemary extract as a preservative in snack foods, cookies, crackers, nuts, and pasta. It's already used in the US, EU, and Australia. The extract prevents fats from going rancid—think stale chips or off-tasting peanut butter.
Why This Matters
Eat chips, cookies, or peanut butter? This affects what's in them. Rosemary extract is a natural antioxidant that could replace synthetic preservatives in your snacks. If you care about food additives or have rosemary allergies, this one's for you.
What Could Change
Food manufacturers could start using rosemary extract in cookies, crackers, chips, nuts, pasta, and snack bars. Labels would need to list it as an ingredient. Maximum levels would range from 10 to 50 parts per million depending on the food type.
Key Issues
- Should rosemary extract be permitted as a preservative in Canadian foods?
- Are the proposed maximum levels (10-50 ppm) appropriate for different food categories?
- Should the JECFA international specifications be adopted for rosemary extract quality?
How to Participate
- Review the proposed changes to the List of Permitted Preservatives to understand which foods would be affected and at what levels.
- Email your comments to food.ibr-ipr.aliments@hc-sc.gc.ca with "rosemary extract (P-FAA-25-02)" in the subject line by the deadline.