Codex Approves Magnesium Stearate Recommendations

BRUSSELS, BelgiumThe International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations' (IADSA) recommendations to evaluate magnesium stearate have been approved by the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) for inclusion in its General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA).

CCFA agreed to place the additive on the priority list of food additives proposed for evaluation by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), after a request proposed by IADSA for its safety assessment and establishment of specifications for GSFA inclusion.

For more than 80 years, magnesium stearate has been utilized by tablet manufacturers worldwide and is estimated to be used in 70 percent of all supplement tablets.

In October, IADSA and China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) discussed evaluating trends in China's health food regulations.