COMMISSION REGUL ATION (EU) No 923/2014 
of 25 August 2014 
amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council as regards the use of aluminium lakes of ribof lavins (E 101) and cochineal, carminic acid, 
carmines (E 120) in certain food categor ies and Annex to Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 as regards 
the specif ications for ribof lavins (E 101) 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
THE EUR OPEAN COMMISSION, 
Having regar d to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 
on food additives (1), and in particular Article 10(3) and Article 14, 
Whereas: 
(1)  Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 lays down a Union list of food additives appro ved for use in foods 
and their conditions of use. 
(2)  Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 (2) lays down specific ations for food additives liste d in Annex es II and 
III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008. 
(3) The Union list of food additives and the specif ications may be updat ed in accordance with the common proce ­
dure refer red to in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
either on the initiative of the Commission or following an application (3). 
(4) The European Food Safety Author ity (hereinaf ter: ‘the Author ity’), in its opinion of 22 May 2008 (4) recom ­
mended to lower the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) for aluminium to 1 mg/kg body weight/week . In addition, the 
Author ity considered that the revised TWI was generally exceeded for high consumers, especially children, in a 
significant part of the Union. In order to ensure that the revised TWI is not excee ded, the conditions of use and 
the use levels for food additives containing aluminium, including aluminium lakes were amended by Commission 
Regulation (EU) No 380/2012 (5). 
(5)  Regulation (EU) No 380/2012 provides that aluminium lakes prepared from all colours listed in Table 1 of 
Part B of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 are author ised until 31 July 2014. From 1 August 2014 
only aluminium lake s prepared from the colours listed in Table 3 of Part A of Annex II to Regulation (EC) 
No 1333/2008 are author ised and only in those food catego ries where provisions on maximum limits on alumi ­
nium coming from lakes are explicitly stated in Part E of that Annex. 
(6)  Applications for author isation of the use of aluminium lakes of ribof lavins (E 101) and the extension of use of 
aluminium lakes of cochineal, carminic acid, carmines (E 120) were submitted in the course of 2013 and have 
been made available to the Member States pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008. While consid ­
ering the applications a special attention was paid to a possible exposure to aluminium in order not to under mine 
Regulation (EU) No 380/2012. 
(7)  In aluminium lakes of colours the dye is rendered insoluble and functions diffe rently to its dye equivalent (e.g. 
improved light, pH and heat stability , preventing colour bleed and providing a different colour shade to dye 
colours) making the lake form suitable for certain specific technical applications. 26.8.2014 L 252/11 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(1)OJ L 354, 31.12.2008, p. 16. 
(2)Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 of 9 March 2012 laying down specificatio ns for food additives listed in Annexes II and III to 
Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 83, 22.3.2012, p. 1). 
(3)Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 establishing a common author isa­
tion procedure for food additives, food enzymes and food flavourings (OJ L 354, 31.12.2008, p. 1). 
(4)Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Food Additives, Flav ourings, Processing Aids and Food Contact Materials (AFC) on Safet y of aluminium 
from dietar y intake, (The EFSA Journal (2008) 754, p. 1). 
(5)Commission Regulation (EU) No 380/2012 of 3 May 2012 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council as regar ds the conditions of use and the use levels for aluminium-containing food additives (OJ L 119, 
4.5.2012, p. 14). (8)  The author isation of aluminium lakes of ribof lavins provides an altern ative to aluminium lakes of other yello w 
colours in foods in whic h the use of aluminium lakes is author ised. The use levels request ed for aluminium lakes 
of cochineal, carminic acid, carmines are low and the exte nsion of use is either to niche products or to products 
whic h are not consumed by children. A higher use level for paste urised fish roe is needed due to the heat treat ­
ment to guarantee a stable colour during the shelf life of the product. It is not expecte d that the author isation of 
aluminium lakes of ribof lavins and the extensi on of use of aluminium lakes of cochineal, carminic acid, carmines 
would have a signif icant impact on the total exposure to aluminium. 
(9)  Pursuant to Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008, the Commission is to seek the opinion of 
the Author ity in order to update the Union list of food additives set out in Annex II to Regulation (EC) 
No 1333/2008, excep t where such updat e is not liable to have an effect on human health. Since the author isation 
of aluminium lake s of ribof lavins and the exte nsions of use of aluminium lakes of coch ineal, carminic acid, 
carmines constitut e updat es of that list whic h are not liable to have an effect on human health, it is not necessar y 
to seek the opinion of the Author ity. 
(10)  Annex to Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 stipulat es that a colour may be used in the form of aluminium lakes 
only where explicitly stated. Theref ore, the author isation of aluminium lakes of ribof lavins (E 101) requires modi ­
fication of the specifi cations for that food additive provided in the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 with 
regar d to use of aluminium lakes of colours. 
(11)  Theref ore, Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 and Annex to Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 should be 
amended according ly. 
(12)  The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committ ee on 
the Food Chain and Animal Health, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGUL ATION: 
Article 1 
Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation. 
Article 2 
Annex to Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 is amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation. 
Article 3 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Union. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member State s. 
Done at Brussels, 25 August 2014. 
For the Commission 
The Presid ent 
José Manuel BARR OSO  26.8.2014 L 252/12 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     ANNEX I 
Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 is amended as follows: 
(1)  In Part A, in Table 3 the following entr y is inser ted after the entr y for food additive E 100: 
‘E 101 Ribof lavins’  
(2)  Part E is amended as follows: 
(a)  in categor y 01.7.2 Ripened cheese: 
(i)  the entr y concer ning the food additive E 120 is replaced by the following:  
‘E 120 Cochineal , Carminic acid, Carmines 125 (83) only red marbled cheese ’  
(ii)  the following footnot e is added:   
‘(83):  Maximum limit for aluminium coming from aluminium lake s of E 120 cochineal, carminic acid, carmines 3,2 mg/kg. No other aluminium 
lakes may be used. For the purposes of Article 22(1)(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 that limit shall apply from 1 Febr uary 2013.’  
(b)  in categor y 08.2 Meat preparations as defined by Regulation (EC) No 853/2004: 
(i)  the entr y concer ning the food additive E 120 is replaced by the following:  
‘E 120 Cochineal , Carminic acid, Carmines 100 (66) only breakf ast sausag es with a minimum cereal cont ent of 6 %, burger 
meat with a minimum vegetable and/or cereal cont ent of 4 % mixed 
within the meat (in these products, the meat is minced in such a way 
so that the muscle and fat tissue are compl etely dispersed, so that 
fibre makes an emulsion with the fat, giving those products their 
typical appearance), merguez type products, salsicha fresca, mici, buti­
farra fresca, long aniza fresca, chor izo fresco, cevapcici and pljeskavice ’  
(ii)  the following footnot e is added:   
‘(66):  Maximum limit for aluminium coming from aluminium lakes of E 120 cochineal, carminic acid, carmines 1,5 mg/kg. For the purposes of 
Article 22(1)(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 that limit shall apply from 1 Febr uary 2013.’  26.8.2014 L 252/13 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (c)  in categor y 09.2 Processed fish and fisher y products including molluscs and crustaceans: 
(i)  the entr y concer ning Group III is replaced by the following:  
‘Group III Colours with combined maximum limit 500 (84) only surimi and similar products and salmon substitutes’  
(ii)  the first entr y concer ning the food additive E 120 is replaced by the following:  
‘E 120 Coc hineal, Carminic acid, Carmines 100 (35) (85) only fish past e and crustacean paste’  
(iii)  the following footnotes are added:   
‘(84):  Maximum limit for aluminium coming from aluminium lake s of E 120 coch ineal, carminic acid, carmines 4 mg/kg. As a derogation to 
this rule, the maximum limit only for salmon substitutes shall be 5,5 mg/kg. No other aluminium lake s may be used. For the purposes of 
Article 22(1)(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 that limit shall apply from 1 Febr uary 2013.   
(85):  Maximum limit for aluminium coming from aluminium lakes of E 120 cochineal, carminic acid, carmines 2 mg/kg only in fish paste. No 
other aluminium lakes may be used. For the purposes of Article 22(1)(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 that limit shall apply from 
1 Febr uary 2013.’  
(d)  in categor y 09.3 Fish roe: 
(i)  the entr y concer ning Group III is replaced by the following:  
‘Group III Colours with combined maximum limit 300 (86) excep t Sturg eons' eggs (Cavi ar)’  
(ii)  the following footnot e is added:   
‘(86):  Maximum limit for aluminium coming from aluminium lake s of E 120 cochineal, carminic acid, carmines 3 mg/kg. As a derogation to 
this rule, the maximum limit only for pasteur ised products shall be 50 mg/kg. No other aluminium lakes may be used. For the purposes 
of Article 22(1)(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 that limit shall apply from 1 Febr uary 2013.’  26.8.2014 L 252/14 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (e)  in categor y 14.2.6 Spir it drinks as defined in Regulation (EC) No 110/2008: 
(i)  the entr y concer ning Group III is replaced by the following:  
‘Group III Colours with combined maximum limit 200 (87) excep t: spirit drinks as defined in Article 5(1) and sales denomina ­
tions listed in Annex II, paragraphs 1-14 of Regulation (EC) 
No 110/2008 and spirits (preceded by the name of the fruit) 
obtained by maceration and distillation, Geist (with the name of the 
fruit or the raw mat erial used), London Gin, Sambuca, Marasc hino, 
Mar rasquino or Maraskino and Mistrà’  
(ii)  the following footnot e is added:   
‘(87):  Maximum limit for aluminium coming from aluminium lake s of E 120 cochineal, carminic acid, carmines 1,5 mg/kg. No other aluminium 
lakes may be used. For the purposes of Article 22(1)(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 that limit shall apply from 1 Febr uary 2013.’  
(f)  in categor y 14.2.7.1 Aromatised wines: 
(i)  the entr y concer ning the additive E 120 is replaced by the following:  
‘E 120 Cochineal , Carminic acid, Carmines 100 (26) (27) 
(87) only amer icano, bitter vino’  
(ii)  the following footnot e is added:   
‘(87):  Maximum limit for aluminium coming from aluminium lake s of E 120 cochineal, carminic acid, carmines 1,5 mg/kg. No other aluminium 
lakes may be used. For the purposes of Article 22(1)(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 that limit shall apply from 1 Febr uary 2013.’  
(g)  in categor y 14.2.7.2 Aromatised wine-based drinks: 
(i)  the entr y concer ning the additive E 120 is replaced by the following:  
‘E 120 Cochineal , Carminic acid, Carmines 100 (28) (87) only bitter soda’  
(ii)  the following footnot e is added:   
‘(87):  Maximum limit for aluminium coming from aluminium lake s of E 120 cochineal, carminic acid, carmines 1,5 mg/kg. No other aluminium 
lakes may be used. For the purposes of Article 22(1)(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 that limit shall apply from 1 Febr uary 2013.’  26.8.2014 L 252/15 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (h)  in categor y 14.2.7.3 Aromatised wine-product cocktails: 
(i)  the entr y concer ning Group III is replaced by the following:  
‘Group III Colours with combined maximum limit 200 (87)’   
(ii)  the following footnot e is added:   
‘(87):  Maximum limit for aluminium coming from aluminium lake s of E 120 cochineal, carminic acid, carmines 1,5 mg/kg. No other aluminium 
lakes may be used. For the purposes of Article 22(1)(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 that limit shall apply from 1 Febr uary 2013.’  
(i)  In categor y 14.2.8 Other alcoholic drinks including mixtures of alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks and spirits with less than 15 % of alcohol: 
(i)  the entr y concer ning Group III is replaced by the following:  
‘Group III Colours with combined maximum limit 200 (87) only alcoholic drinks with less than 15 % of alcohol and nalewka na 
winie owocow ym, aromatyzow ana nalewka na winie owocowy m, nalewka na 
winie z soku winog ronowe go, aromatyzo wana nalewka na winie z soku 
winog ronowego, napój winny owocowy lub miodo wy, aromatyzo wany napój 
winny owocowy lub miodo wy, wino owoco we niskoalkoholowe and aromaty ­
zowane wino owocowe niskoalkoholowe’  
(ii)  the following footnot e is added:   
‘(87):  Maximum limit for aluminium coming from aluminium lake s of E 120 cochineal, carminic acid, carmines 1,5 mg/kg. No other aluminium 
lakes may be used. For the purposes of Article 22(1)(g) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 that limit shall apply from 1 Febr uary 2013.’  26.8.2014 L 252/16 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     ANNEX II 
Annex to Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 is amended as follows: 
(1)  The following senten ce is inser ted at the end of the entr y for additive E 101 (i) RIBOFL AVIN: 
‘Aluminium lakes of this colour may be used.’ 
(2)  The following senten ce is inser ted at the end of the entr y for additive E 101 (ii) RIBOFL AVIN-5′-PHOSPHA TE: 
‘Aluminium lakes of this colour may be used.’  26.8.2014 L 252/17 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN