COMMISSION REGUL ATION (EU) 2016/683 
of 2 May 2016 
amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council as regards the use of propionic acid — propionates (E 280-283) in tortillas 
(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), 
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)  The Union list of food additives may be updat ed in accordance with the common procedure refer red to in 
Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) either on the 
initiative of the Commission or following an application. 
(3)  On 14 July 2015, an application was submitte d for an extension of use of calcium propionat e (E 282) as a 
preser vative for extension of the shelf-life of tortillas. That application was made available to the Member States 
pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008. 
(4)  The use of propionic acid — propionates is needed for the extension of the shelf-life of tortillas, since this 
product gets spoiled very quickly due to high moisture conte nt and compo sition that is susceptible for microbial 
growth. 
(5)  Propionic acid — propionat es are widely used to prevent the growth of moulds in leav ened baker y products, due 
to their minimal effect on yeast and on the odour or taste of the final product. 
(6)  The European Food Safety Author ity (‘the Author ity’), in its opinion on the re-evaluation of propionic acid 
(E 280), sodium propionate (E 281), calcium propionat e (E 282) and potassium propionat e (E 283) as food 
additives (3), concluded that there would not be a safety concer n from the maximum concentrations of those 
substances at their currently author ised uses and use levels as food additives. The author isation of the use of 
propionat es in tortillas is an extensi on which would not lead to additional concer n as the exposure assessment 
done by the Author ity covered food catego ry 07.1 ‘Bread and rolls’. 
(7)  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 extension of 
the use of propionic acid — propionate s (E 280-283) as preser vatives in tortillas constitute s an update of that list 
whic h is not liable to have an effect on human health, it is not necessar y to seek the opinion of the Author ity. 
(8)  Theref ore, Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 should be amended according ly. 
(9)  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, 3.5.2016 L 117/28 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(1)OJ L 354, 31.12.2008, p. 16. 
(2)Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 establishing a common author is­
ation procedure for food additives, food enzymes and food flavourings (OJ L 354, 31.12.2008, p. 1). 
(3)EFSA Journal 2014;12(7):3779. HAS ADOPTED THIS REGUL ATION: 
Article 1 
Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation. 
Article 2 
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, 2 May 2016. 
For the Commission 
The Presid ent 
Jean-Claude JUNCKER   
ANNEX 
In Part E of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, in food catego ry 07.1 ‘Bread and rolls ’, the entr ies for 
propionic acid — propionates are replaced by the following:  
‘E 280-283 Propionic acid — pro­
pionates 3 000 (1) (6) only prepac ked sliced bread and rye 
bread 
E 280-283 Propionic acid — pro­
pionates 2 000 (1) (6) only energy-reduced bread; partially 
baked prepac ked bread; prepack ed 
rolls, tortilla and pitta; prepack ed 
pølsebrød, boller and dansk flutes 
E 280-283 Propionic acid — pro­
pionates 1 000 (1) (6) only prepack ed bread’   3.5.2016 L 117/29 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN