Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Carrier or Extraction Solvents  to Correct the Entries for Ethyl Acetate Permitted for  
 Use as an Extraction Solvent for Decaffeinating Green Coffee Beans and Tea Leaves and for Methyl Alcohol Permitted for  
Use as an Extraction Solvent in Manufacturing Steviol Glycosides   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food  Branch     1 
  
Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Carrier or 
Extraction Solvents  to Correct the Entries for Ethyl 
Acetate Permitted for Use as an Extraction Solvent for 
Decaffeinating Green Coffee Beans and Tea Leaves and 
for Methyl Alcohol Permitted for Use as an Extraction 
Solvent in Manufacturing Steviol Glycosides  
Notice of Modifi cation – Lists of Permitted Food Additives  
Reference Number: [NOM/ADM -0059] 
 
 
 September  3, 201 5  
Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Carrier or Extraction Solvents  to Correct the Entries for Ethyl Acetate Permitted for  
 Use as an Extraction Solvent for Decaffeinating Green Coffee Beans and Tea Leaves and for Methyl Alcohol Permitted for  
Use as an Extraction Solvent in Manufacturing Steviol Glycosides   
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  (FDR) . Approved food additives and 
their permitted conditions of use are set out in the Lists of Per mitted Food Additives  that are 
incorporated by reference in the MAs and published on Health Canada’s website.  
 
This Notice of Modification presents two similar corrections to the List of Permitted Carrier or 
Extraction Solvents . 
 
Health Canada received a query from a stakeholder regarding a change to sub -items 5.(3) and 
5.(4) of Table XV in Division 16 of the Food and Drug Regulations . Sub -items 5.(3) and 5.(4) of 
Table XV identify permitted food additive uses of ethyl acetat e as an extraction solvent in green 
coffee beans and tea leaves for decaffeination purposes.  
 
When the amendments to the FDR to permit the use of ethyl acetate as an extraction solvent for 
decaffeinating green coffee beans were published in the Canada Gaze tte, Part II, on December 
22, 1982, and the amendments to the FDR to extend the use of the same additive as an extraction 
solvent for decaffeinating tea leaves were published in the Canada Gazette , Part II, on October 
10, 1990, ethyl acetate had correctly been listed in Table XV with maximum residue limits in 
Column III.  However, between October 15, 2007, and February 6, 2008, the official online 
versions of the FDR began to incorrectly place the two maximum residue limits in Column IV 
instead of Column II I of Table XV.  As a result, the online version of the FDR was indicating a 
maximum limit that was more restrictive than that which was intended, since it was setting out 
the maximum amount of ethyl acetate that could be used for decaffeination purposes ra ther than 
the maximum residue of ethyl acetate that could remain in the decaffeinated green coffee or 
decaffeinated tea.  
 
This error was reproduced in the List of Permitted Carrier or Extraction Solvents  when the food 
additive tables of Division 16 were re set into the Lists of Permitted Food Additives  in 2012 .   
 
Health Canada consulted the Department of Justice about the query and that Department, after 
investigating the matter, corrected the entries in Table XV in the FDR published on the Justice 
Laws Website in January 2015.  
 
The second corrective modification is of a similar nature. In August 2014, Health Canada 
extended the use of methyl alcohol (methanol) as an extraction solvent to include its use in the 
manufacture of the sweetener steviol glycosides.  The intent was to enable a use of this solvent 
that ali gned with the monograph for steviol glycosides set out in the Food Chemicals Codex  
(FCC), which specifies a maximum limit of 200 p.p.m. for residual methanol remaining in the 
finished steviol glycosides. However, the limit of 200 p.p.m. was erroneously set  out in Column 
4 as a maximum level of use, when it should have been prescribed under Column 3 as a 
maximum residue.  
  
Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Carrier or Extraction Solvents  to Correct the Entries for Ethyl Acetate Permitted for  
 Use as an Extraction Solvent for Decaffeinating Green Coffee Beans and Tea Leaves and for Methyl Alcohol Permitted for  
Use as an Extraction Solvent in Manufacturing Steviol Glycosides   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food  Branch     3 Therefore, Health Canada has modified the List of Pe rmitted Carrier or Extraction Solvents  to 
correct these permitted food additive uses by moving the text from Column 4 of sub -items 5.(3) 
and 5.(4), and sub -item 14.(4), to Column 3 as shown below to the list.  
 
Modification to the List of Permitted Carrier or Extraction Solvents  
 
Item 
No. Column 1  
Additive  Column 2  
Permitted in or 
upon  Column 3  
Maximum 
Residue  Column 4  
Maximum Level of 
Use and Other 
Conditions  
5. Ethyl 
Acetate  (3) 
Green coffee 
beans for 
decaffeination 
purposes  
 
(4)                  
Tea leaves for 
decaffeination 
purposes  (3) 
10 p.p.m. in both 
roasted and 
decaffeinated 
soluble (instant) 
coffee  
(4)                      
50 p.p.m.   
14. Methyl 
Alcohol 
(methanol)  (4) 
Steviol glycosides  (4) 
200 p.p.m.   
 
Rationale  
 
These corrective modifications are required to restore the permitted conditions of use of ethyl 
acetate in decaffeinating green coffee beans and tea leaves to those which had originally been in 
place and to correctly set out the conditions of use for methyl alc ohol used as an extraction 
solvent in the manufacture of steviol glycosides.  
 
Implementation and Enforcement  
 
The above modification came into force September  03, 2015, the day it was published in List of 
Permitted Carrier or Extraction Solvents . 
 
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsible for the enforcement of the Food and Drugs 
Act and its associated regul ations with respect to foods.  
 
Contact Information  
  
Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Carrier or Extraction Solvents  to Correct the Entries for Ethyl Acetate Permitted for  
 Use as an Extraction Solvent for Decaffeinating Green Coffee Beans and Tea Leaves and for Methyl Alcohol Permitted for  
Use as an Extraction Solvent in Manufacturing Steviol Glycosides   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food  Branch     4 Health Canada's Food Directorate is committed to reviewing any new scientific information on 
the safety in use of any food additive, including ethyl acetate and methyl alcohol . 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 electronically, please use the words " Corrective modifications to List 15 " 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 0L2  
E-mail:  bcs-bipc@hc -sc.gc.ca