Administrative Guidance Documents 

Petition Process for Food and Color Additives 

• Electronic Submissions 
  • Providing Regulatory Submissions in Electronic Format — General Considerations (Agency) (Draft Guidance, October 2003)
  • Providing Food and Color Additive Petitions in Electronic Format (Draft, July 2001)
  • Submission Form - FDA Form 3503 (PDF - 256KB)
• Preparing Petitions
  • Pre-Petition Consultations for Food Additives and Color Additives for the Preparation of Petition Submissions (April 2005)
  • Questions And Answers About the Food Additive Petition Process (September 2003; Revised April 2006)
• Food Additives
  • Guidance for Food Additive Petition Expedited Review (January 1999)

Submissions for Food Contact Articles and Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) Substances

Preparation of Notifications for Food Contact Substances (Food Contact Notifications (FCN))

• Preparation of Food Contact Notifications: Administrative (June 2000; Revised May 2002)
  • FDA Form 3480 - Notification for New Use of a Food Contact Substance (PDF - 1031KB)
  • FDA Form 3479 - Notifications for Food Contact Formulation (PDF-583KB)

Threshold of Regulation (TOR) Guidance

• Guidance for Submitting Requests under 21 CFR 170.39, Threshold of Regulation for Substances Used in Food Contact Articles (March 1996; Revised April 2005)

GRAS Notices 

• Frequently Asked Questions about GRAS (December 2004)

Scientific Guidance Documents

Chemistry Guidance Documents 

Guidance documents available for specific subject areas are listed below. The directions in the documents have been prepared as an informal guide; however, other approaches may be appropriate. Interested individuals are asked to contact the Office of Food Additive Safety if other approaches are being considered.

• Preparation of Food Contact Notifications and Food Additive Petitions for Food Contact Substances: Chemistry Recommendations (April 2002; Revised December 2007)
• Use of Recycled Plastics in Food Packaging: Chemistry Considerations (August 2006)
• Recommendations for Submission of Chemical and Technological Data for Direct Food Additive Petitions (March 2006; Revised March 2009)
• Estimating Dietary Intake of Substances in Food (September 1995; Revised August 2006)
• Enzyme Preparations: Chemistry Recommendations for Food Additive and GRAS Affirmation Petitions, January 1993.

Microbiology

• Guidance for Antimicrobial Food Additives (July 1999)
• Microbiological Considerations for Antimicrobial Food Additive Submissions (June 2008)

Toxicology Guidance Documents

The guidance documents listed below have been prepared to assist in the design of protocols for animal studies conducted to test the safety of food ingredients.

• Preparation of Food Contact Notifications for Food Contact Substances: Toxicology Recommendations (September 1999; April 2002)
• Summary Table of Recommended Toxicological Testing for Additives Used in Food (1983; Revised June 2006)
• Toxicological Principles for the Safety Assessment of Direct Food Additives and Color Additives Used in Food
  • Toxicological Principles for the Safety Assessment of Direct Food Additives and Color Additives Used in Food (also known as Redbook I), U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Bureau of Foods (now CFSAN), 1982. May be purchased from: National Technical Information Services (NTIS), 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, Telephone (703) 605-6000, NTIS Order Number PB83-170696.
  •  Toxicological Principles for the Safety Assessment of Direct Food Additives and Color Additives: 1993 Draft Redbook II. Sections of Draft Redbook II not yet finalized in Redbook 2000 are available.
  • Toxicological Principles for the Safety Assessment of Food Ingredients: Redbook 2000 (July 7, 2000; Revised October 2001, November 2003, April 2004, February 2006, and July 2007)
    (Redbook 2000 chapters now substitute for or supplement guidance available in the 1982 Redbook I and in the 1993 Draft Redbook II, which can be obtained from the Office of Food Additive Safety. Additional chapters of Redbook 2000 will become available electronically upon their completion.)
• Templates for reporting toxicology data (March 2004; April 2005)

Environmental Guidance Documents

• Preparing a Claim of Categorical Exclusion or an Environmental Assessment for Submission to the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (May 2006)

  When testing is necessary, consult the Environmental Assessment Technical Assistance Handbook for testing guidelines.

• Environmental Assessment Technical Assistance Handbook.

  Please contact the Environmental Review Group at Premarkt@fda.hhs.gov for assistance in preparing a claim of categorical exclusion or an EA and before doing environmental fate and effects testing.