How we rate food additives
Every additive on Yuzu carries one of three ratings: safe, watch, or avoid. Those callsaren't opinions or crowd-sourced votes. They come from the published position of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the EU Food Additives Database, read against one consistent rule. Here is exactly how it works.
Where the ratings come from
The primary source is EFSA's scientific opinions, the formal re-evaluations its panels publish for each additive, which set an Acceptable Daily Intake where one can be established and note where real-world exposure overshoots it. We cross-reference the EU Food Additives Database (the legal permissions under Regulation 1333/2008) and, where relevant, the position of other regulators such as the US FDA. Each additive page links the specific source it rests on, so you can check the primary document yourself.
The three tiers
Across the 191 additives we track, the split is roughly even: 65 safe, 64 watch, 62 avoid. That's deliberate. A scale where almost everything is “bad” can't actually help you choose.
Safe: cleared by EFSA with no significant concern at typical dietary exposure. Common, well-studied, not a reason to put a product back.
Watch: mixed evidence or a specific concern (gut effects, allergy, or contested safety data). Fine in moderation, worth not eating without limit.
Avoid: a known or suspected harm flagged by EFSA or another regulator, or a substance restricted in some jurisdictions. Worth keeping out of a regular diet.
The one distinction that governs every call
There is a single line that decides whether something gets rated at all: “depends what it is” versus “depends how much.”
An additive is rated when the concern is about the substance itself: its own toxicology, or an exposure level that overshoots the safe ceiling EFSA set. That's a “depends what it is” question, and it earns a colour.
Bulk nutrients like sugar and salt are a different kind of question. A gram of sugar in a yoghurt and a gram in a cola are the same molecule; what separates them is how much. That's a dose question, not a substance question, so we don't stamp sugar with a red or green additive dot. It would be meaningless. The right place to judge quantity is a product's nutrition profile, not its additive list.
What a rating is not
An “avoid” rating doesn't mean a single exposure will hurt you, and a “safe” rating isn't a health endorsement of the product it's in. A biscuit made entirely of safe-rated ingredients is still a biscuit. The rating describes the additive, not the meal. And because EFSA revisits its opinions as new evidence lands, these ratings are reviewed against the current position rather than frozen.
This is general information to help you read a label, not medical or dietary advice. If you have a specific health condition or allergy, follow the guidance of a qualified professional.