E 962, fluid-bed drying and food RegTech

EFSA has found no safety concern for the salt of aspartame-acesulfame at currently reported uses, while recommending revised purity requirements. Lesaffre is adding fluidised-bed technology to its European contract-drying operations. In Italy, Biorsaf's acquisition of Cooki brings HACCP, quality, traceability, nutrition data and labelling together on one platform.

E 962: safety assessment complete, specifications may follow

EFSA has completed its re-evaluation of the salt of aspartame-acesulfame (E 962). After ingestion, the sweetener dissociates into aspartame and acesulfame. For the currently reported uses and use levels, the responsible panel identified no safety concern for E 962 or either of its components. Exposure estimates for all age groups assessed remained below the acceptable daily intakes of 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day for aspartame and 15 milligrams for acesulfame K [1].

The completed assessment nevertheless gives risk managers a specific issue to address. EFSA recommends updating the EU specification for E 962 to align it with current requirements for its starting materials, E 950 and E 951. It also recommends reviewing the limits for arsenic and lead in the specification for aspartame. One uncertainty concerns the possible presence of 5-chloro-acesulfame as an impurity in acesulfame K and the lack of experimental data on its genotoxicity. EFSA concluded that this data gap does not alter the overall safety conclusion [1].

For manufacturers, the opinion does not yet change authorised uses or maximum levels. EFSA provides the scientific assessment; the European Commission decides whether to amend the legal specifications. Until then, the conditions of use in Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 and the current purity criteria in Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 remain applicable [2][3]. The issue is already relevant to supplier qualification. Users of E 962 or aspartame should structure specifications, certificates of analysis and contractual change-notification procedures so that any new limits can be incorporated consistently into raw-material release and finished-product assessment.

Lesaffre: fluidised-bed technology expands contract drying in Strasbourg

LIS by Lesaffre is integrating the Lesaffre Culinary Strasbourg site into its European drying network and installing new fluidised-bed technology there. According to the company, the existing box dryer adds annual capacity of approximately 4,000 tonnes. Together with the sites in Cérences, France, and Legnica, Poland, LIS covers development trials at laboratory and pilot scale through to industrial contract production [4].

The new equipment adds processing options beyond drying itself. Lesaffre lists intensive granulation to improve dispersibility, flowability and compressibility; coating to protect active ingredients; co-drying to dose a compound precisely onto a carrier; and over-drying to adjust an ingredient's moisture content [4]. For ingredient manufacturers, this represents more than additional drying capacity: particle structure and surface properties can affect dosing behaviour, dust formation, solubility, tablet manufacture, stability and release.

When transferring a product to such a contract process, comparison of the main chemical specification alone is therefore insufficient. Particle-size distribution, bulk density, water activity, rehydration, homogeneity and, where relevant, release of a coated substance become batch- and application-specific release criteria. Lesaffre has disclosed neither the investment amount and commissioning date nor validated operating ranges for the new fluidised bed. Suitability for specific food or food-supplement applications consequently remains subject to product- and process-specific qualification.

Biorsaf acquires Cooki: compliance data moves closer to formulation

Italian food RegTech company Biorsaf has completed a €5.2 million funding round and acquired Cooki. P101 led the round, with participants including Maia Ventures, Farming Future and Toscana Next. According to the published information, Cooki contributes more than 1,000 active users and a database of 35,000 coded food products. The two systems together have more than 11,000 active users [5][6].

The technical significance lies in the data architecture. Biorsaf has focused mainly on digitising HACCP, quality, occupational safety and water hygiene. Cooki adds traceability, formulations, nutrition values, allergens, labelling, inventory and food-cost management [5][6]. The same raw-material and formulation data could therefore feed operational controls, labelling and costing. This may reduce duplicate data entry and inconsistencies, while increasing the consequences of an incorrect master-data change.

For manufacturers and food-service systems, controlled data management matters more than the number of features. Source status, approval roles, version history and the links between formulation version, nutrition calculation, allergen information and artwork must remain traceable, including for automatically generated documents. Biorsaf says that it will expand an AI-assisted platform and pursue further growth through acquisitions [5]. The purchase price for Cooki, technical integration plan, interfaces and procedures for expert validation of AI-generated content have not been disclosed. Statements about reach, user numbers and savings come from the company and its investors.

Wishing you a great day, Andreas Gebhart

Sources

All sources last checked on 14 September 2026.

1. EFSA: Re-evaluation of salt of aspartame-acesulfame (E 962), 10 September 2026.
2. VO (EG) Nr. 1333/2008, Art. 4 und Anhang II.
3. VO (EU) Nr. 231/2012, Art. 1 und Anhang.
4. Lesaffre: New drying capacity and technologies in Strasbourg, company announcement of 10 September 2026.
5. CDP Venture Capital: Biorsaf closes €5.2m round and acquires Cooki, investor announcement of 10 September 2026.
6. Biorsaf: Acquisition of Cooki and financing round, company announcement of 10 September 2026.

Note: These updates provide technical context and do not replace legal, technological or product-specific assessment of an individual case. Image: AI-generated.