Amino acids play an important role in Foods for Special Dietary Uses (FSDU). Food business operators (FBOs) add amino acids and their derivatives to foods for nutritional purposes. These include:

• Supporting individuals who cannot consume intact proteins (e.g., due to metabolic or digestive disorders)
• Supplementing products that contain incomplete protein sources
• Fortifying products to restore amino acid content lost during manufacturing or handling

However, regulations can vary significantly between jurisdictions. In practice, this may:

• Impede the free movement of foods containing added amino acids, including FSDU
• Complicate efforts to align quality requirements for amino acids and their use
• Create unequal conditions of competition, ultimately affecting the functioning of international trade

To address these challenges, International Special Dietary Foods Industries (ISDI) has worked to clarify and identify amino acids and their associated forms which have a history of safe use in nutritional products and for which appropriate purity standards are available.

This guidance provides a voluntary and self-regulating framework to support the safe and nutritionally appropriate use of amino acids and their specific derivatives in FSDU. It is intended to assist FBOs in understanding the Codex Alimentarius framework as it relates to amino acids, including a proposed list of substances, relevant specifications, and recommended best practices. This document does not supersede national regulations, which must be confirmed by FBOs prior to marketing products with added amino acids.

A summary of purity requirements and permitted amino acids for use in FSDU according to national regulations is published separately in Annex II.

The brochure draws on and adapts information from the 2018 Guidance on Amino Acids prepared by the Amino Acid Coalition (EHPM, ESSNA, EUVEPRO, FSE, ICAAS and SNE). The original document is available from its respective publishers.