Low Risk

search_additives

Search the food additive database by keyword, category, function, or health concern. Useful for finding all preservatives, colorants linked to hyperactivity, banned additives, etc.

Accepts freeform code/query input (query)

Part of the Food Safety Intelligence MCP server. Enforce policies on this tool with Intercept, the open-source MCP proxy.

AI agents call search_additives to retrieve information from Food Safety Intelligence without modifying any data. This is common in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows where the agent needs context before taking action. Because read operations don't change state, they are generally safe to allow without restrictions -- but you may still want rate limits to control API costs.

Even though search_additives only reads data, uncontrolled read access can leak sensitive information or rack up API costs. An agent caught in a retry loop could make thousands of calls per minute. A rate limit gives you a safety net without blocking legitimate use.

Read-only tools are safe to allow by default. No rate limit needed unless you want to control costs.

twohalves-food-safety.yaml
tools:
  search_additives:
    rules:
      - action: allow

See the full Food Safety Intelligence policy for all 3 tools.

Tool Name search_additives
Category Read
Risk Level Low

Agents calling read-class tools like search_additives have been implicated in these attack patterns. Read the full case and prevention policy for each:

Browse the full MCP Attack Database →

Other tools in the Read risk category across the catalogue. The same policy patterns (rate-limit, allow) apply to each.

What does the search_additives tool do? +

Search the food additive database by keyword, category, function, or health concern. Useful for finding all preservatives, colorants linked to hyperactivity, banned additives, etc.. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Food Safety Intelligence MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on search_additives? +

Add a rule in your Intercept YAML policy under the tools section for search_additives. You can allow, deny, rate-limit, or validate arguments. Then run Intercept as a proxy in front of the Food Safety Intelligence MCP server.

What risk level is search_additives? +

search_additives is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit search_additives? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the search_additives rule in your Intercept policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block search_additives completely? +

Set action: deny in the Intercept policy for search_additives. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides search_additives? +

search_additives is provided by the Food Safety Intelligence MCP server (twohalves/food-safety). Intercept sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Let agents act without letting them run wild.

Deterministic policy on every MCP tool call. Per-identity grants. Full audit log.

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