{"id":"F2015L00436","name":"Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Schedule 14 – Technological purposes performed by substances used as food additives","slug":"australia-new-zealand-food-standards-code-schedule-14-technological-purposes-performed-by-substances","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":93039,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2015L00436-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Schedule 14 – Technological purposes performed by substances used as food additives","content":"Schedule 14 Technological purposes performed by substances used as food additives\n\nNote 1 This instrument is a standard under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (Cth). The standards together make up the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. See also section 1.1.1—3.\n\nSubstances used as food additives and substances used as processing aids are regulated by Standard 1.1.1, Standard 1.3.1 and Standard 1.3.3. This Standard lists technological purposes for paragraph 1.1.2—11(1)(b) (definition of used as a food additive) and paragraph 1.1.2—13(1)(c) and subparagraph 1.1.2—13(2)(a)(iii) (definition of used as a processing aid).\n\nNote 2 The provisions of the Code that apply in New Zealand are incorporated in, or adopted under, the Food Act 2014 (NZ). See also section 1.1.1—3.\n\nS14—1 Name\n\nThis Standard is Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Schedule 14 – Technological purposes performed by substances used as food additives.\n\nNote Commencement: \nThis Standard commences on 1 March 2016, being the date specified as the commencement date in notices in the Gazette and the New Zealand Gazette under section 92 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (Cth). See also section 93 of that Act.\n\nS14—2 Technological purposes\n\nThe technological purposes performed by substances used as food additives are set out in the table.\n\nTechnological purposes\n\n| Purpose | Sub-classes | Definition |\n| ------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| Acidity regulator | acid, alkali, base, buffer, buffering agent, pH adjusting agent | alters or controls the acidity or alkalinity of a food |\n| Anti-caking agent | anti-caking agent, anti-stick agent, drying agent, dusting powder | reduces the tendency of individual food particles to adhere or improves flow characteristics |\n| Antioxidant | antioxidant, antioxidant synergist | retards or prevents the oxidative deterioration of a food |\n| Bulking agent | bulking agent, filler | contributes to the volume of a food without contributing significantly to its available energy |\n| Colouring | | adds or restores colour to foods |\n| Colour fixative | colour fixative, colour stabiliser | stabilises, retains or intensifies an existing colour of a food |\n| Emulsifier | emulsifier, emulsifying salt, plasticiser, dispersing agent, surface active agent, surfactant, wetting agent | facilitates the formation or maintenance of an emulsion between two or more immiscible phases |\n| Firming agent | | contributes to firmness of food or interacts with gelling agents to produce or strengthen a gel |\n| Flavour enhancer | flavour enhancer, flavour modifier, tenderiser | enhances the existing taste or odour of a food |\n| Flavouring(excluding herbs and spices and intense sweeteners) | | intense preparations which are added to foods to impart taste or odour, which are used in small amounts and are not intended to be consumed alone, but do not include herbs, spices and substances which have an exclusively sweet, sour or salt taste |\n| Foaming agent | whipping agent, aerating agent | facilitates the formation of a homogeneous dispersion of a gaseous phase in a liquid or solid food |\n| Gelling agent | | modifies food texture through gel formation |\n| Glazing agent | coating, sealing agent, polish | imparts a coating to the external surface of a food |\n| Humectant | moisture/water retention agent, wetting agent | retards moisture loss from food or promotes the dissolution of a solid in an aqueous medium |\n| Intense sweetener | | replaces the sweetness normally provided by sugars in foods without contributing significantly to their available energy |\n| Preservative | antimicrobial preservative, antimycotic agent, bacteriophage control agent, chemosterilant, disinfection agent | retards or prevents the deterioration of a food by micro organisms |\n| Propellant | | gas, other than air, which expels a food from a container |\n| Raising agent | | liberates gas and thereby increases the volume of a food |\n| Sequestrant | | forms chemical complexes with metallic ions |\n| Stabiliser | binder, firming agent, water binding agent, foam stabiliser | maintains the homogeneous dispersion of two or more immiscible substances in a food |\n| Thickener | thickening agent, texturiser, bodying agent | increases the viscosity of a food |\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_ \n\nAmendment History\n\nThe Amendment History provides information about each amendment to the Standard. The information includes commencement or cessation information for relevant amendments.\n\nThese amendments are made under section 92 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 unless otherwise indicated. Amendments do not have a specific date for cessation unless indicated as such.\n\nAbout this compilation\n\nThis is compilation No. 2 of Schedule 14 as in force on 19 July 2023 (up to Amendment No. 220). It includes any commenced amendment affecting the compilation to that date.\n\nPrepared by Food Standards Australia New Zealand on 19 July 2023.\n\nUncommenced amendments or provisions ceasing to have effect\n\nTo assist stakeholders, the effect of any uncommenced amendments or provisions which will cease to have effect, may be reflected in the Standard as shaded boxed text with the relevant commencement or cessation date. These amendments will be reflected in a compilation registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments including or omitting those amendments and provided in the Amendment History once the date is passed.\n\nThe following abbreviations may be used in the table below:\n\nad = added or inserted am = amended\n\nexp = expired or ceased to have effect rep = repealed\n\nrs = repealed and substituted\n\nSchedule 14 was published in the Food Standards Gazette No. FSC96 on 10 April 2015 as part of Amendment 154 (F2015L00436 –- 2 April 2015) and has since been amended as follows:\n\n| Section affected | A’ment No. | FRLI registrationGazette | Commencement(Cessation) | How affected | Description of amendment |\n| ---------------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------- | ----------------------- | ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| table to S14—2 | 157 | F2015L013741 Sept 2015FSC993 Sept 2015 | 1 March 2016 | am | Correction of typographical errors in the table under the definitions for ‘firming agent’ and ‘raising agent’. |\n| Table to S14—2 | 220 | F2023L0100411 July 2023FSC16019 July 2023 | 19 July 2023 | rs | Omit and substitute typographical error |","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Schedule remains a definitional instrument whose scope is to list technological purposes for substances used as food additives or processing aids. Amendments recorded are typographical corrections and substitutions; they do not expand the Schedule beyond its original purpose of providing functional categories for the Code's definitions."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision (S14—2) consisting of a short table","Around 20 named technological purposes listed (e.g. Acidity regulator, Emulsifier, Preservative)","Several sub-classes listed but no lengthy definitions or numeric criteria","Cross-references to multiple other Code provisions (Standards 1.1.1, 1.3.1, 1.3.3 and paragraph references in Standard 1.1.2)","Some functional overlap between categories (e.g. stabiliser vs emulsifier vs thickener) which can create interpretive complexity","Amendment history limited to typographical corrections — no nested exceptions or conditional logic"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (mechanically)\n\n- This Schedule defines the \"technological purposes\" that a substance can perform when it is treated as a food additive or as a processing aid under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. (See S14—2.)\n- It does this by listing a table: each row gives a named purpose (for example, \"Acidity regulator\", \"Emulsifier\", \"Preservative\"), any sub-classes (alternative or related labels), and a short plain-language definition of the function. The Schedule does not itself list allowed chemicals, set concentration limits, or create permissions — it provides definitions that other parts of the Code use.\n- The Schedule is referenced by the Code's definitions for \"used as a food additive\" and \"used as a processing aid\" (paragraphs in Standard 1.1.2). In practice, whether a substance is treated as an additive or processing aid depends in part on whether it performs one of these technological purposes.\n\n**Who this affects\n\n- Food manufacturers and product formulators: they use these definitions to classify ingredients and decide whether an ingredient will be treated as a food additive or processing aid (which affects approvals, labelling and permitted use).\n- Food additive suppliers and importers: classification influences compliance obligations and whether an ingredient requires pre-market approval or labelling as an additive.\n- Regulators and enforcement agencies in Australia and New Zealand: they use these definitions to assess whether a substance is regulated as an additive or processing aid under the Code and the Food Act (NZ).\n- Laboratories, consultants and legal advisers working on compliance and product registration.\n\n**Why it matters (practical consequences)\n\n- Classification role: The Schedule provides the functional yardstick regulators and industry use to decide if a substance is a \"food additive\" (which typically triggers stricter controls: permitted lists, maximum levels, labelling) or a processing aid (often subject to lighter controls). See S14—2.\n- Consistency and predictability: Clear, short definitions reduce uncertainty about whether novel or existing substances fall within an additive purpose, affecting commercial decisions (formulation, approval-seeking, labelling). Where definitions are broad or overlap, however, industry may still face uncertainty and need regulator consultation.\n- Indirect regulatory effect: Because this Schedule does not itself permit or ban substances, its primary effect is to channel substances into the regulatory pathways set out elsewhere in the Code (Standards 1.1.1, 1.3.1 and 1.3.3).\n\n**Official rationale (as stated in the instrument)\n\n- The instrument lists technological purposes for use in the Code's definitions of \"used as a food additive\" and \"used as a processing aid\" so that those definitions have an enumerated set of functions.\n\n**Testing the rationale against costs, incentives and implementation mechanics\n\n- Who pays: Industry (manufacturers, suppliers, importers) bears the cost of classifying substances, seeking approvals, relabelling or reformulating if a substance is treated as an additive rather than a processing aid. Those costs arise from the downstream regulatory pathways the Schedule helps trigger, not from the Schedule itself.\n- Who decides: The Schedule sets the functional categories; enforcement decisions and approvals are made by regulators (FSANZ processes for standard-making and state/Territory/NZ enforcement). Ambiguity in definitions gives regulators discretion in borderline cases.\n- Behavioural incentives: Clear classification reduces the incentive to litigate or seek formal rulings; where categories overlap (e.g. \"stabiliser\", \"emulsifier\", \"thickener\"), manufacturers may seek pre-submissions or regulatory advice to avoid non-compliance risk. That creates demand for compliance services.\n- Trade-offs and opportunity costs: The Schedule favours clarity and compactness over exhaustive technical definitions. That lowers drafting complexity but increases the potential need for case-by-case technical assessment for novel ingredients (opportunity cost: time and expense for industry and regulators).\n- Compliance burden and implementation risk: Because the Schedule cross-references other Code provisions that set lists and limits, users must consult multiple parts of the Code. Misclassification (treating a regulated additive as an exempt processing aid) can trigger enforcement action, recalls, or reformulation costs.\n\n**Notable technical points and practical consequences (section references)\n\n- S14—2 is the operative provision: it is a table of purposes, sub-classes and short functional definitions. The Schedule is deliberately concise and functional; it does not contain chemical-level criteria or numerical thresholds.\n- Overlap/ambiguity: Several purposes have close functional overlap (for example, \"stabiliser\", \"emulsifier\", \"thickener\", \"gelling agent\"). Where an ingredient performs multiple functions, classification will depend on the dominant or intended function in the food and may require regulator interpretation.\n- Amendment history is limited to typographical corrections (no substantive scope changes): the Schedule has been corrected for typos and formatting (see Amendment History).\n\n**Bottom line (practical takeaway)\n\n- This Schedule provides the functional categories used across the Code to decide whether a substance is an additive or processing aid. It is a coordination instrument: it shapes which regulatory pathways apply but does not itself authorise or ban specific substances. Businesses should use these definitions to assess classification risk and, where functions overlap or a use is novel, obtain regulatory advice or pre-market assessment.\n"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains focused on its original purpose: providing a standardized list of technological purposes for food additives. Since its commencement in 2016, it has only received minor typographical corrections (Amendments 157 and 220), with no expansion of scope or addition of new technological purposes."},"complexity_factors":["Single table format with only 3 columns (Purpose, Sub-classes, Definition)","No conditional logic, exceptions, or cross-references within the operative provisions","Only 21 defined technological purposes","Definitions are functional and descriptive rather than legalistic","Minimal legislative machinery — essentially a lookup table referenced by other standards","No penalty provisions, enforcement mechanisms, or procedural requirements","Straightforward amendment history with only 2 amendments since 2016 (both correcting typographical errors)"],"plain_english_summary":"Schedule 14 defines the 21 technical purposes (e.g., emulsifier, preservative) that substances perform in food, giving names, alternative terms and plain-language definitions. It’s used by food businesses and regulators to classify ingredients as food additives or processing aids, which determines labeling, approval and safety testing requirements. By standardising these functions across Australia and New Zealand, the Schedule ensures consistent regulation and clearer ingredient information for consumers."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australia-new-zealand-food-standards-code-schedule-14-technological-purposes-performed-by-substances","history":"/api/acts/australia-new-zealand-food-standards-code-schedule-14-technological-purposes-performed-by-substances/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australia-new-zealand-food-standards-code-schedule-14-technological-purposes-performed-by-substances/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australia-new-zealand-food-standards-code-schedule-14-technological-purposes-performed-by-substances/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australia-new-zealand-food-standards-code-schedule-14-technological-purposes-performed-by-substances/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australia-new-zealand-food-standards-code-schedule-14-technological-purposes-performed-by-substances/documents"}}