European Parliament:The European Parliament will vote on proposals today designed to update and harmonise procedures for authorising food additives, flavourings and enzymes.
Proposals made by the parliament's committee on the environment, public health and food safety suggest a common authorisation procedure should be put in place for food additives to ensure higher safety standards.
Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle, author of the report on enzymes, said more enzymes were being produced or derived from genetically modified micro-organisms, and only three member states - the UK, France and Denmark - have risk assessment procedures in place.
Enzymes are added in the manufacture, processing, packaging, transport or storage of foods. They are most commonly used in baking, brewing, and the production of alcohol, fruit juices, soft drinks and dairy produce.
Ms Doyle said the lack of harmonised rules was creating barriers to trade and differing standards of health and consumer protection. She said foods should be labelled where enzymes were present in the final product.
"I think anything that makes food safer . . . so that the consumer can make choices, and either leave something on the shelf or buy it and eat it, is important."
Swedish socialist MEP Asa Westlund, author of the report on food additives, said they were necessary to extend the shelf life of foods and to add texture, but that they should not be used in such a way that consumers would be misled about the type of products in the food.