Notice of Modification to the List of 
Permitted Food Enzymes  to Enable the 
Use of Glucose Oxidase from 
Aspergillus niger  J39 in Various F oods  
 
Notice of Modification  – Lists of Permitted Food 
Additives  
Reference Number: NOM/ADM-0142  
January 21 , 2020  
 Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Food Enzymes  to Enable the Use of Glucose Oxidase from Aspergillus niger  J39 in  
Various Foods | 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 Pe rmitted 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 foo d 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 glucose 
oxidase from Aspergillus niger  J39 as a food enzyme in bread, flour, whole wheat flour, pasta, and 
unstandardized bakery products. In addition, the  petitioner is seeking approval to add this food enzyme to 
certain shredded cheeses (cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan and provolone) just prior to their packaging. The 
food enzyme is to be used in all the requested foods at a level consistent wit h Good Manufa cturing Practice. 
The purpose for using the glucose oxidase in the bread, flour, whole wheat flour and unstandardized bakery 
products is to improve the functional properties (e.g. stability, machinability) of the dough, resulting in better 
bread making per formance. The food enzyme also reduces the stickiness of the dough in pasta applications, 
which will facilitate processing of the pasta. With respect to cheeses, glucose oxidase is to be added together 
with an anticaking agent to the packaged shredded chee se to reduce the residual oxygen in the packages 
which in turn decreases mold growth and increases the shelf life of the product. A secondary benefit is that 
the enzyme reduces undesired over -browning of shredded cheese when it is baked (e.g. as a pizza to pping).  
 
Glucose oxidase from other A. niger  strains is already permitted for use as a food enzyme in the manufacture 
of all the foods of interest to the petitioner other than the shredded cheeses. However, A. niger  J39 has not 
previously been permitted as  a sou rce for food enzymes in Canada.  
 
The results of the Food Directorate’s evaluation of available scientific data support the safety and efficacy of 
glucose oxidase from A. niger  J39 when used as a food enzyme as requested by the petitioner. Therefore, 
Health Canada has modified the  List of Permi tted Food Enzymes  to enable the requested uses of this enzyme 
from the new source by adding the entries shown below to the list.  
 Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Food Enzymes  to Enable the Use of Glucose Oxidase from Aspergillus niger  J39 in  
Various Foods | 3 
  
 
 
 
 
Modification to the List of Permitted Food Enzymes  
 
Item 
No. Column 1  
Additive  Column 2  
Permitted 
Source  Column 3  
Permitted in  or Upon  Column 4  
Maximum Level of Use and 
Other Conditions  
G.3 Glucose 
oxidase  Aspergillus 
niger  J39 (1) 
Bread; Flour; Whole Wheat 
Flour  (1) 
Good Manufacturing 
Practice  
(2) 
Pasta  (2) 
Good Manufacturing 
Practice  
(3) 
The surface of shredded 
cheddar  cheese; The surface of 
shredded (naming the variety) 
cheese  (3) 
Good Manufacturing 
Practice  
 
(4) 
Unstandardized bakery 
products  (4) 
Good Manufacturing 
Practice  
 
Rationale  
Health Canada’s Food Directorate completed a premarket safety assessment of glucose oxidase from 
Aspergillus niger  J39 for use as a food enzyme. The assessment concluded that information related to 
chemistry, microbiology, nutrition, toxicology and allerge nicity supports the safety of glucose oxidase from A. 
niger  J39 for its requested uses. In addition, the petitioner provided data supporting that glucose oxidase is 
effective for its intended purposes of use in shredded cheese, which is a new type of food in which to permit 
this food enzyme.  
 
Therefore, the Department has enabled the requested uses of glucose oxidase from A. niger  J39 by adding 
the new entries shown in the above table to the  List of Permitted Food Enzymes . Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Food Enzymes  to Enable the Use of Glucose Oxidase from Aspergillus niger  J39 in  
Various Foods | 4 
 Other Relevant Information  
The Food and Drug Regulations  require that food additives such as glucose oxidase from A. niger  J39 that do 
not have food -grad e specifications set out in Part B of the Regulations meet the most recent food -grade 
specifications set out in the Food Chemicals Codex  or the Combined Compendium of Food Additive 
Specifications . The Food Chemicals Codex  is a compendium of standards for p urity and identity for food 
ingredients, including food additives, published by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention. The 
Combined Compendium of Food Additive Specifications  and its associated General Specifications and 
Considerations for Enzyme Preparations  are both prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food 
Additives (JECFA) and published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.  
Implementation and Enforcement  
The above modification came into force January  21, 2020, the day it was published in the List of Permitted 
Food Enzymes . 
 
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsibl e for the enforcement of the Food and Drugs Act and its 
associated regulations with respect to foods.  
Contact Information  
Health Canada's Food Directorate is committed to reviewing any new scientific information on the safety in 
use of any food additive, including glucose oxidase from A. niger  J39. Anyone wishing to submit new scientific 
information on the use of this additive or to submit any inquiries may do so in writing, by regular mail or 
electronically. If you wish to contact the Food Directorate ele ctronically, please use the words " glucose 
oxidase (NOM -0142)" 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