Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard 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^f1, and in particular Article 14 thereof,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 establishing a common authorisation procedure for food additives, food enzymes and food flavourings^f2, and in particular Article 7(5) thereof,

Whereas:

Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012^f3 lays down specifications for food additives listed in Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008.

Those specifications may be updated in accordance with the common procedure referred to in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008, either on the initiative of the Commission or following an application.

On 17 November 2014, an application was submitted for the amendment of specifications concerning the food additive Ethyl lauroyl arginate (E 243). The application was made available to the Member States pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008.

The current specification defines ethyl lauroyl arginate as synthesized by esterifying arginine with ethanol, followed by reacting the ester with lauroyl chloride. The resultant ethyl lauroyl arginate is recovered as the hydrochloride salt, which is filtered and dried.

The applicant demonstrated that the current definition is too broad and should reflect details as regards temperature and pH, that were included in the original application and that are important in order to obtain the same profile that was evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority in its opinion on the safety of the use of Ethyl lauroyl arginate as a food preservative^f4.

Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 should therefore be amended accordingly.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: