Notice of Modification to the List of 
Permitted Firming Agents  to Enable the 
Use of Potassium Aluminum Sulphate  
in Salted Jellyfish  
 
Notice of Modification  – Lists of Permitted Food 
Additives  
Reference Number: NOM/ADM-0167 
May  20, 2021 
  
Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Firming Agents  to Enable the Use of Potassium Alumi num Sulphate in Salted       
Jellyfish  – Reference Number: NOM/ADM -0167| 2 
 Summary  
Food additives are regulated in Canada under Marketing Authorizations  (MAs) issued by the Minister of 
Health and the Food and Drug Regulations  (Regulations) .  Approved food additives and their permitted 
conditions of use are set out in the Lists of Permitted Food Additives  that are incorporated by reference in 
the MAs and published on the Canada.ca website.  A petitioner can request that Health Canada approve a 
new additive or a new condition of use for an already approved food additive by filing a f ood additive 
submission with the Department's Food Directorate.  Health Canada uses this premarket approval process to 
determine whether the scientific data support the safety of food additives when used under specified 
conditions in foods sold in Canada.  
Health Canada’s Food Directorate received a food additive submission seeking approval for the use of 
potassium aluminum sulphate  as a firming agent  in salted jellyfish , at a maximum level of use  of 100 parts per 
million ( ppm)1. While the submission was spe cific to the hydrated form of this additive (potassium aluminum 
sulphate dodecahydrate), the Food Directorate’s safety evaluation both the hydrated and anhydrous form 
(potassium aluminum sulphate anhydrous).   On an “as aluminum” basis , this level is equiva lent to 6 ppm for 
potassium aluminum sulphate dodecahydrate and 11 ppm for potassium aluminum sulphate anhydrous.   
Potassium aluminum sulphate is already permitted for use as a firming agent  in pickles and relishes, sea 
urchin roe , and unstandardized foods .  
The results of the Food Directorate’s evaluation of available scientific data support the sa fety of potassium 
aluminum sulphate , both the hydrated and anhydrous form,  when used  in salted jellyfish  as set out in the 
table below .  Therefore, Health Canada has modified the List of Permitted Firming Agents  to extend the use 
of potassium alu minum sulphate  by adding the entry shown below to the list . 
 
Modification to the List of Permitted Firming Agents  
Item 
No. Column 1  
Additive  Column 2  
Permitted in or Upon  Column 3  
Maximum Level of Use and 
Other Conditions  
P.1 Potassium Aluminum  
Sulphate  (4) 
Salted Jellyfish  (4) 
11 p.p.m. calculated as aluminum    
Rationale  
Health Canada’s Food Directorat e completed a premarket safety assessment of potassium aluminum 
sulphate  for use as firming agent  in salted jellyfish .  The assessment concluded that info rmation re lated to 
allergenicity, chemistry, microbiology, nutrition, and toxicology support  the safety of potassium aluminum 
sulphate  for its requested use.  Therefore, the Department has enabled the requested use of potassium 
aluminum sulphate  by adding to the List of Permitted Firming Agents  the new entr y shown in the above 
table.   
                                                             
1 Based on the hydrated form . Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Firming Agents  to Enable the Use of Potassium Alumi num Sulphate in Salted       
Jellyfish  – Reference Number: NOM/ADM -0167| 3 
 Other Relevant Information  
Food additives and other ingredients generally must be declared in the list of ingredients on the label of pre -
packaged foods sold in Canada. Salted jellyfish treated with potassium aluminum sulphate will need to have 
the potassium aluminum sulphate declar ed in the list of ingredients. This will alert i ndividuals following a low 
potassium diet to the presence of the additive in this food. Health Canada is also strongly encouraging 
industry to  voluntarily decla re the total amount of potassium , as well as  the percentage of the “daily value” 
for potassium, in the Nutrition Facts table  on prepackaged foods . This declaration will become mandatory  in 
accordance with amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations  that will change nutrition labelling 
requirements, publ ished on December 2, 20162. 
The Food and Drug Regulations  require that food additives such as potassium aluminum sulphate  that do not 
have food -grade specifications set out in Part B of the Regulations meet the food -grade specifications set out 
in the  most  recent  edition of the  Food Chemicals Codex  or the Combined Compendium of Food Additive 
Specifications .  The Food Chemicals Codex  is a compendium of standards for purity and identity for food 
ingredients, including food additives, published by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention. The 
Combined Compendium of Food Additive Specifications , which contains specifications prepared b y the Joint 
FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), is published by the Food and Agriculture 
Organ ization of the United Nations.  
Implementation and Enforcement  
The above modification came into force May 20, 2021, the day it was published in  the List of Permitted 
Firming Agents .  
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsible for the enforcement o f the Food and Drugs Act and its 
associated regulations with respect to foods.   
Contact Information  
Health Canada's Food Directorate is committed to reviewing new scientific information on the safety in use of 
any permitted food additive, including potassium aluminum sulphate .  Anyone wishing to submit new 
scienti fic information on the use of this additive or to submit inquiries  may do so in writing, by regular mail or 
electronically.  If you wish to contact the Food Directorate electro nically, pleas e use the words " potassium 
aluminum sulphate (NOM -0167)" in the subject line of your e -mail.  
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate  
251 Sir Frederick Banting Driveway  
Tunney’s Pasture, PL: 2202C  
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9  
E-mail: hc.bcs -bipc.sc@canada.ca
                                                             
2 Canada Gazette, Part II, Vol. 150, No 25, December 14, 2016. SOR/DORS/2016 -305: http://gazette.gc.ca/rp -
pr/p2/2016/2016 -12-14/html/sor -dors305 -eng.html