JECFA Publications

JECFA traditionally meets twice a year to evaluate food additives, contaminants, naturally occurring toxicants and residues of veterinary drugs in food. Each meeting results in three principle types of publications, as well as other minor documentation. FAO and WHO assures that a considerable body of publications from JECFA is made available in several easily accessible on-line archives.

In the weeks following a JECFA  meeting, a summary report is published and posted on the FAO and WHO websites. It includes the main conclusions and the health-based guidance values or other safety recommendations for the substances evaluated at the meeting. The summary report is replaced by the JECFA meeting report at the time of its publication.

WHO Technical Report Series (TRS)

These reports, published by the World Health Organization, contain concise toxicological evaluations and the chemical and analytical aspects of each substance reviewed by JECFA, as well as information on the intake assessment. Reports reflect the agreed view of the Committee as a whole and describe the basis for their conclusions. They are available in PDF format, and the 1st through 36th reports are also available in French and Spanish.

WHO Food Additive Series (FAS)

These monographs, published by the World Health Organization, contain detailed descriptions of the biological and toxicological data considered in the evaluation, as well as the intake assessment. The 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th through 52nd series of FAS monographs are available in HTML format. WHO monographs beginning with the 51st series are also available in PDF format.