Analysis of coatings for fruits and vegetables

Qualitative testing of fruit waxes and fruit fats

April 2022. More and more consumers wish alternative packaging methods for fruit and vegetables that do not use plastics. Legislation has expanded the legal basis for this and newly regulated the declaration of so-called "coatings" in order to create more transparency. Fruit waxes and fruit fats used for surface treatment keep unpackaged fruit and vegetables fresh for longer than untreated ones. The Eurofins laboratories for Food & Feed testing in Germany now offer qualitative analysis of typical fruit waxes and fats used for surface treatment.

New regulation for coating additives in food legislation

In the European Union, the use of coatings is regulated by the Additives Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008^[1]. It defines precisely which types of fruit and vegetables may be treated with coatings, such as microcrystalline wax (E905), shellac (E904) or beeswax (E901). New in German law is the additional national regulation according to §5 para. 1 no. 7 of the Regulation on the Implementation of Union Law on Food Additives (LMZDV)^[2]. Since June 2021, additives for the surface treatment of fresh fruit and vegetables have to be labeled with the indication "waxed". Coatings used such as mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E471) or sucrose esters of fatty acids (E473) must now also be declared.

Have we piqued your interest?

If you would like to know more about the new legal regulations relating to coating additives or if you have any questions about our analytics, our experts are at your disposal at any time. Either contact your personal account manager or our specialist Udo Hartmann.

Relevante Verordnungen und Quellen:

[1] Consolidated text: Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives
[2] German Federal Ministry of Justice: Regulation on the implementation of Union provisions concerning the food information of consumers (Lebensmittelinformations-Durchführungsverordnung - LMIDV) (in German)