draft proposed food amendment regulations 2013 the agri-food veterinary authority of singapore ava has completed a review of the food regulations and proposes the following amendments a to allow the use of the following new food additives i. arabinogalactan larch gum as an emulsifier and stabiliser under the sixth schedule . ii. alpha-amylase from bacillus subtilis as a processing aid under the eighth schedule . iii. aminopeptidase from aspergillus oryzae as a processing aid under the eighth schedule . iv. cellulase from trichoderma longibrachiatum as a processing aid under the eighth schedule . v. glucoamylase or amyloglucosidase from aspergillus niger as a processing aid under the eighth schedule . vi. glycerophospholipid cholesterol acyltransferase from a genetically modified strain of bacillus licheniformis as a processing aid under the eighth schedule . vii. hemicellulase endo-1 4-a-xylanase from a genetically modified strain of bacillus subtilis as a processing aid under the eighth schedule . viii. hemicellulase endo-1 4-a-xylanase from a genetically modified strain of aspergillus niger as a processing aid under the eighth schedule . ix. hexose oxidase from a genetically modified strain of hansenula polymorpha as a processing aid under the eighth schedule . b clarification of use categories for the chemical preservative dimethyl dicarbonate dimethyl dicarbonate dmdc is currently permitted to be added to non-alcoholic drinks u to the maximum level of 250ppm under the fourth schedule of the food regulations . however the food category non-alcoholic drinks is not well defined and may overla with various food categories in the fourth schedule such as soft drinks for consumption without dilution other than fruit drink or fruit crush and fruit drink and fruit crush. ava proposes to amend the regulations to clearly define the food categories which may be added with dmdc and the maximum permitted use levels as follows selected foods maximum amount of dimethyl dicarbonate in parts per million ppm water-based flavoured drinks including sport energy or electrolyte drinks and particulated drinks 250 ready-to-drink coffee coffee substitutes tea herbal infusions and other hot cereal and grain beverages excluding cocoa 250 cider and perry 250 grape wines 200 wines other than grape 250 mead 200 added level residue of dimethyl dicarbonate not detected in the ready-to-eat food. c to specify maximum limits for the following incidental constituents i. aflatoxin b1 u to 0.1 ppb in food for infants and young children. ii. aflatoxin m1 u to 0.025 ppb in infant formula calculated on the reconstituted ready-to-consume product . iii. patulin u to 10 ppb in food other than processed cereal-based food for infants and young children. iv. melamine u to 1 ppm in powdered infant formula u to 0.15 ppm in liquid infant formula as consumed u to 2.5 ppm in any other foods. d to allow the use of polydextrose in infant formula u to a maximum permitted level of 0.2 g per 100 ml. e to make editorial amendments to the format for the nutrition information panel nip under the twelfth schedule presently the nip format under the twelfth schedule requires that the units for nutrients other than energy protein fat and carbohydrate are to be declared in g and further specifies that sodium potassium and cholesterol are to be declared in mg. this may give the erroneous impression that the units for vitamins and minerals as well as any other nutrient are to be declared in g. some vitamins and minerals are added in microgram mcg quantities while other vitamins and minerals are added in milligram mg quantities. in addition there are other forms of measurements which are commonly used for certain vitamins such as i.u international units and the present nip format does not reflect such forms of declaration. it is proposed to amend the twelfth schedule to specify that the nutrients are to be declared either in mcg mg g or other units of measurement as appropriate. this will better address the forms of measurement currently employed by the industry