Food Gases in the European Union: The Legislation

The European legislator has defined the matter of food gases by means of three regulatory documents at least: Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 (general principles and requirements of food law), Reg. (EC) No 852/2004 (hygiene of foodstuffs), and Reg. (EC) No 1935/2004 (materials and articles intended to come into contact with food). Actually, there are different national regulations on these arguments (food and non-food applications in the European Union). The comprehension of the intended use of food gases, according to recent European regulations concerning the safe use of chemicals, is critical. Other points of interest are the identification of the food business operator and the definition of food gas as ‘ingredient’, ‘technological aid’, or ‘food additive’. This chapter discusses the regulatory classification of food (and non-food) gases in the European Union, with possible exclusions.