Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents  to Enable the Use of  
Sucrose Monoesters of Lauric, Palmitic, or Stearic Acid as Emuls ifiers in Unstandardized Beverages   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch     1 
  
Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted 
Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents  to 
Enable the Use of Sucrose Monoesters of Lauric, 
Palmitic, or Stearic Acid as Emulsifiers in 
Unstandardized Beverages  
 
Notice of Modification – Lists of Permitted Food Additives   
Reference Number: [NOM/ADM -0083] 
 
 
 November 29, 2016   
Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents  to Enable the Use of  
Sucrose Monoesters of Lauric, Palmitic, or Stearic Acid as Emuls ifiers in Unstandardized Beverages   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch     2 Summary  
 
Food additives are regulated in Canada under Marketing Authorizations  (MAs) issued by the 
Minister of Health and the Food and Drug Regulations.  Approved food additives and th eir 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 Health Canada’s website. A petitio ner can request that Health 
Canada approve a new additive or a new condition of use for an already approved food additive by 
filing a food additive submission with the Department's Food Directorate. Health Canada uses this 
premarket approval process to det ermine whether the scientific data support the safety of food 
additives when used under specified conditions in foods sold in Canada.  
 
Health Canada received a food additive submission seeking approval for the use of sucrose 
monoesters of lauric, palmitic,  or stearic acid as emulsifiers in unstandardized beverages, 
unstandardized beverage concentrates, and unstandardized beverage mixes at a level of use up to 
0.0145% in the beverage as consumed.  
 
The results of Health Canada’s evaluation of available scient ific data support the safety of sucrose 
monoesters of lauric, palmitic, or stearic acid when used as requested.  Since sucrose monoesters of 
lauric, palmitic or stearic acid are food additives that were not specifically identified in Health 
Canada’s Lists of Permitted Food Additives, Health Canada published a notice of the department’s 
proposal to enable the use of these emulsifiers, titled Notice of  Health Canada’s Proposal to Enable 
the Use of Sucrose Monoesters of Lauric, Palmitic or Stearic Acid as Emulsifiers in Unstandardized 
Beverages – Reference Number: NOP/AVP -0019 .   
 
The p roposal was published on June 17, 2016, and was open for public comment for 75 days. No 
new scient ific information was submitted to the Department in response to this publication. Since the 
conclusions of the evaluation remain as described in the proposal, Health Canada has modified the 
List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents  as indicated in the table 
below.  
 
Modification to the List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents  
 
The following new entry has been added in t he List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or 
Thickening Agents : 
 
Item 
No. Column 1  
Additive  Column 2  
Permitted in or upon  Column 3  
Maximum Level of Use 
and Other Conditions  
S.21 Sucrose 
Monoesters of 
Lauric, Palmitic 
or Stearic Acid  Unstandardized beverages; 
Unstandardized beverages 
concentrates; Unstandardized 
beverage mixes  0.0145% in beverages as 
consumed  
 
 
 
  
Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents  to Enable the Use of  
Sucrose Monoesters of Lauric, Palmitic, or Stearic Acid as Emuls ifiers in Unstandardized Beverages   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch     3 Rationale  
 
Health Canada’s Food Directorate evaluated the safety of the requested use of sucrose monoesters of 
lauric, palmitic or stearic acid. Additional details about the evaluation were provided in the Notice of 
Proposal published on June 17, 2016.  Based on the o utcome of the evaluation, Health Canada has 
enabled the requested uses of sucrose monoesters of lauric, palmitic or stearic acid by modifying the 
List of Permitted Emulsifying, G elling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents  as shown in the above table.  
 
Corrective modifications to the List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening 
Agents   
 
In order to maintain consistency among the food additive listings in List 4, each word in the name of 
the food additive in column 1 of item S.20 (sucrose esters of fatty acids) has been capitalized.  
 
Notification – Summary of Comments  
 
Health Canada did not receive any comments in response to the Notice of  Health Canada’s Proposal  
to Enable the Use of Sucrose Monoesters of Lauric, Palmitic or Stearic Acid as Emulsifiers in 
Unstandardized Beverages – Reference Number: NOP/AVP -0019 , published on June 17, 2016.  
 
Implementation and Enforcement  
 
The above modifications came into force on November 29, 2016 , the day they were published in the 
List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents . 
 
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsible 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 of any permitted food additive, including sucrose monoesters of lauric, palmitic or stearic acid . 
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 elec tronically, please use the word s “sucrose monoesters of lauric, palmitic or stearic 
acid” in the s ubject line of your e -mail.  
 
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate  
251 Sir Frederick Banting Driveway  
Tunney’s Pasture, PL: 2202C  
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L2  
E-mail: bcs-bipc@hc -sc.gc.ca