Food Chemicals Codex

Overview

The Food Chemicals Codex (FCC) is a compendium of internationally recognized monograph standards and tests for the purity and quality of food ingredients, e.g., preservatives, flavorings, colorants, and nutrients. The FCC is beneficial to the food industry because it provides quality standards used in agreements between suppliers and manufacturers in ongoing supply decisions and purchasing transactions.

Published since 1966, the FCC was recently acquired by USP from the Institute of Medicine. With the new Seventh Edition, USP is updating the FCC through an open collaborative revision process involving industry, government, and the public. Learn more about the new FCC revision process.

Information and features

The 1,100 FCC monographs provide specifications for food ingredients:

• Empirical formula; structural formula; formula weight; and CAS, INS, and FEMA numbers
• Description of the substance, including the physical form and solubility
• Function
• Identification
• Assay
• Impurity limits
• Specific tests
• Packaging and storage

FCC Appendices contain step-by-step guidance for tests and apparatus use.

The Seventh Edition features

• Validation of Food Chemicals Codex Methods
• AOAC/ISO/IUPAC guidelines on method validation
• USP Reference Standards for food ingredients
• Information on analytical techniques from USP-NF General Chapters
• IR spectra
• General Good Manufacturing Practices Guidelines for Food Chemicals
• Comparison of GMP elements from foods and drugs
• FCC in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations

Publication schedule

The Food Chemicals Codex, Seventh Edition, publishes in February 2010. Convenient subscription format with supplements that publish about every six months.

Publication	Publication Date
Food Chemicals Codex, Seventh Edition	February 2010
Supplement 1 to the Seventh Edition	August 2010
Supplement 2 to the Seventh Edition	February 2011
Food Chemicals Codex, Eighth Edition	February 2012

New Online Format

The FCC Online features the same quality content found in the print edition with the added convenience of

• Keyword and advance search functionality to easily find the information you need
• Copy, paste, and bookmarking options that allow you to easily save and access frequently used material
• Password accessibility from any computer, 24 hours a day

How the FCC helps

• Provides efficient and easy-to-use access to monograph standards used to authenticate 1,100 food-grade ingredients
• Includes step-by-step guidance for tests and procedures
• Saves time and expense when setting protocols and SOP's
• Provides quality standards used in transactions between manufacturers and suppliers
• Assists with maintaining regulatory compliance

Who needs the FCC

The FCC is an essential reference for anyone involved in

• Finished food and beverage manufacturing
• Food chemicals and ingredient supply chains
• Food quality control
• Food regulatory affairs

Online technical requirements

Technical support