(1)

Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 lays down a Union list of food additives approved for use in food and their conditions of use.

(2)

Only food additives included in the Union list in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 may be placed on the market as such and used in foods under the conditions of use specified therein.

(3)

Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 (3) lays down specifications for food additives listed in Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008.

(4)

The Union list and the 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.

(5)

On 25 January 2018, an application was submitted for the authorisation of the use of oat lecithin as a food additive in the food category 5.1 ‘Cocoa and Chocolate products as covered by Directive 2000/36/EC’ of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) in Part E of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, at a maximum level of 20 000 mg/kg. The application was subsequently made available to the Member States pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008.

(6)

The European Food Safety Authority (‘the Authority’) evaluated the safety of oat lecithin as a food additive and, in its opinion (5) of 10 December 2019, it concluded that there is no safety concern for oat lecithin to be used as a food additive for the proposed use and use levels.

(7)

Oat lecithin is a fractionated oat oil, which acts as an emulsifier and facilitates the manufacturing of cocoa and chocolate products by reducing the viscosity and yield value of chocolate products. This allows molten chocolate to be pumped easily during processing. Furthermore, oat lecithin prevents fat bloom, a greyish haze, from developing on the surface of products during storage.

(8)

It is therefore appropriate to authorise the use of oat lecithin as an emulsifier in the food category ‘cocoa and chocolate products as covered by Directive 2000/36/EC’, at the maximum use level of 20 000 mg/kg, and to assign E 322a as E-number to that additive.

(9)

The specifications for oat lecithin (E 322a) should be included in Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, as it is included in the Union list of food additives laid down in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 for the first time.

(10)

Regulations (EC) No 1333/2008 and (EU) No 231/2012 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(11)

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