CPG Sec. 515.100 Confectionery - Use of Non-
Nutritive Substances as Ingredients 
BACKGROUND: 
Widespread publicity about use in candy of non-nutritive fillers, poisonous colors, narcotics, and 
alcoholic liquors helped arouse support for passage of the Food and Drugs Act of 1906. That act 
included a provision that a confectionery was deemed to be adulterated if it contained "terra alba, 
barytes, talc, chrome yellow, or other mineral substance or poisonous color or flavor, or other 
ingredient deleterious or detrimental to health, or any vinous, malt or spirituous liquor or 
compound or narcotic drug." 
In 1910, the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the prohibition against 
"mineral" substances applied only if the "mineral" was used to deceive or was detrimental to 
health. (French Silver Dragee Co. v. U.S., 179 Fed. 824). The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
Act of 1938 included a provision under which a confectionery was deemed to be adulterated "if 
it bears or contains any alcohol or non-nutritive article or substance except authorized coloring, 
harmless flavoring, harmless resinous glaze not in excess of four-tenths of 1 percentum, natural 
gum, and pectin." 
Contrary to the finding in French Silver Dragee Co. v. U.S., this section of the act was strictly 
construed by the FDA to prohibit use in a confectionery of any non-nutritive substance other 
than those named, even when the substance was safe and performed a technological function. 
This concept was litigated in the case of U.S. v. 1200 Candy Bars, More or Less, Labeled in Part 
"Sta-Trim." The candy bars were seized on charges of misbranding and adulteration, the latter 
charge being based on use of non-nutritive artificial sweeteners. The court condemned the candy 
on the misbranding charges but ruled that it was not adulterated because the non-nutritive 
sweeteners were not harmful or deceptive. It cited the case of French Silver Dragee Co., v. U.S. 
*The government appealed the decision, but * the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in 
January 1963, vacated the judgement insofar as it dealt with adulteration because the candy bars 
had been destroyed as a result of the misbranding charge (313 F. 2d 219). 
In June 1966, Congress amended section 402(d) to provide that the prohibition against non-
nutritive substances "shall not apply to a safe non-nutritive substance which is in or on 
confectionery by reason of its use for some practical functional purpose in the manufacture, 
packaging, or storage of such confectionery if the use of the substance does not promote 
deception of the consumer or otherwise result in adulteration or misbranding in violation of any 
provision of this Act."  For many years, FDA interpreted this provision as allowing only those non-nutritive substances 
that had a technical effect in the production of a confectionery, i.e., that affected the candy in 
some way in attaining or maintaining certain physical characteristics, to be used in candy. This 
interpretation led FDA to not permit the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in a confectionery for 
the purpose of caloric reduction and sweetening because neither use was considered to have a 
technical effect in the confectionery. 
FDA reexamined this position in 1992 and concluded that Congress did not intend to exclude the 
use of non-nutritive sweeteners in a confectionery. The purpose of the 1966 amendment was to 
"place the confectionery industry on the same basis as other segments of the food industry and 
permit that industry to use in the manufacture of candy, food additives cleared for safety under 
the Food Additives Amendment of 1958 [Section 409]." 21 CFR 170.3(o) defines the terms used 
to describe the physical or technical functional effects for which food additives are added to 
food. "Non-nutritive sweetener" is listed in 21 CFR 170.3(o) (19) as a technical effect. 
POLICY: 
Non-nutritive substances may be used in a confectionery if they meet all of the following 
criteria: 
1.  They must be safe. They may be used if listed by FDA as generally recognized as safe for 
the proposed use, if subject to a prior-sanction or interim listed for such use, or if they are 
food additives or color additives used in accord with a regulation establishing safe 
conditions of use. If there is any question about the safety of a proposed use, this should 
be resolved by submitting a petition for a regulation to establish safe conditions of use. 
2.  The non-nutritive substances must be used for a practical functional purpose. 21 CFR 
170.3(o) defines those terms that describe a practical functional purpose. The non-
nutritive substance should be used in the minimal amount needed to achieve its purpose, 
and its use should otherwise be in accord with good manufacturing practice. 
3.  The use of a non-nutritive substance must not promote deception and must not result in 
adulteration as defined in section 402(b) of the Act. As long as the confectionery is 
properly labeled, the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in a confectionery is not considered 
to promote deception. However, the use of any *non-nutritive* substance, including 
cheap fillers, such as talc, which would promote deception, is still prohibited. 
The agency advises that this CPG represents its current position regarding the interpretation of 
Section 402(d) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as it applies to the use of non-
nutritive sweeteners and other non-nutritive substances in a confectionery. This CPG may be 
useful to FDA Filed Officers when interpreting the agency's policy on the use of non-nutritive 
sweeteners in a confectionery. Furthermore, this CPG does not bind the agency, and it does not 
create or confer any rights, privileges, or benefits for or on any person.  *Material between asterisks is new or revised*. 
Issued: 10/1/80 
Revised: 9/2/92, 3/95