The safety aspects of food additives

Mr. Omar Alajil ( العجيل. عمر (أ M.Sc Food Technology

Content

Introduction Assessment of additives safety Regulation Food additives Example of banned food additives

introduction

The overall consumption of food additives is 139 lbs/year/person (63 kg/person/year).

If the common additives like spices, sugars, salt, honey, pepper, mustard, dextrose etc. are excluded, the consumption decreases to 5 lbs/year (2.3 kg/person/year).

The food additives generally can be divided into six categories.

Fig. 1. Six main categories of food additives

Safety Assessment of food additives

Safe Levels of Additives in Food "All things are poisons; nothing is

without poison; only the dose determines whether there is a harmful effect".

Paracelsus (16th Century Philosopher)

To put it another way, eating a high amount (or dose) of anything will be harmful but at a lower level it can be safe

Even "natural" additives may be harmful in certain quantities (table salt, for example) or because of allergic reactions in certain individuals.

Safrole was used to flavor root beer until it was shown to be carcinogenic.

Due to the application of the Delaney clause, it may not be added to foods, even though it occurs naturally in sassafras and sweet basil.

Tests assess how the additive reacts in the body and also look for any toxic effects at the levels the additive is to be used in foods.

This includes testing to see if there is any chance of genetic damage or cancers being caused by the long-term use of the additive.

Safety Testing

In general, food additives must be subjected to a wide range of tests before they are allowed in food.

For food additives, a safety evaluation is obtained generally from experimental data derived from investigations in laboratory animals.

Although it may be possible to use human data derived from medical use, occupational epidemiology or from volunteers, the obtained data would be limited.

At the end of the toxicological studies data derived from animal studies can be used toextrapolate to give information on human exposure.

Therefore, defining the AcceptableDaily Intake (ADI), described as the dose level at which the additive causes effects on thehealth of the animals, is important.

The highest level at which no adverse effect on the health of the animals is observed is called the NOAEL (No-Observed-Adverse-Effect- Level).

An ADI is derived by dividing the NOAEL obtained from these studies, by an appropriate ‘uncertainty’ factor,

which is intended to take account of differences between the animals on which the additive was tested and humans, in order to reduce further possibility of risk to humans.

This uncertainty factor is commonly 100 (assuming that human beings are 10

times more sensitive than test animals and that the different levels of sensitivity within the humanpopulation is in a 10 fold range),

but may be as much as 1,000 (if, for example, the toxiceffect in animals is found to be particularly severe)

or as low as 10 (where it has been foundthat humans are less likely than animals to be affected,

based on actual data on the additivein humans) (Food Safety Authority of Ireland, 2011).

For example, an additive that has no observable effect in tests at a level of 5 g in a kilogram of food would only be allowed up to a level of 50 mg per kilogram.

Additive is approved only on the basis of scientific evidence of its safety

Food additive use will specify foods where it may be used

and the level of usage

Delaney Admendment

Prohibits use of additives that cause cancer in any animal at any concentration

FDA has defined acceptable risk from chemical consumption as up to one additional case per million cases, when consumed over a lifetime

Repealed in respect to pesticides in 1996

Regulation of Food additives

At a global level: the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives(JECFA) JECFA is the scientific advisory body

to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

It also advises the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which has international responsibility for assessing food safety.

They make regular safety evaluations of additives in use, and establish Acceptable Daily Intake levels (ADI's) for each additive

Their findings are made public and individual additive assessments can be viewed at www.inchem.org

At a European level: the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

EFSA is the body responsible for all food safety matters in the EU.

The EFSA evaluations for individual additives are published on their respective websites.

Regulation of food additives

EU law states that food additives are allowed only if:

1. they present no hazard to health at the level used in foods

2. a reasonable need for the additive can be demonstrated (e.g. in the processing or preservation of food)

3. they do not mislead the consumer

Each food additive is assigned a unique E number, which have been assessed for use within the European Union (EU) to inform consumers.

E numbers for European countries are all prefixed by “E”; on the other hand non-European countries do not use this prefix.

E letter stands for the approval of the food additive in Europe.

The United States Food and Drug Administration listed these items as “generally recognized as safe” or GRAS.

As an example, additive E 341 (Tricalcium phosphate) is approved by US so has an “E” prefix and 341 numbering which stands for 340-349 subset known as “phosphates” under Antioxidants and Acidity Regulators group

Fig. 2. Classification of additives by numeric range

From start to finish, it can take 10 years or more to obtain approval for a new food additive in the EU.

Five years to carry out safety testing, followed by two years for evaluation by the European Food Safety Authority and at least another three years before the additive receives an EU-wide approval for use in every country in the European Union.

Examples of Banned Food Additives

1. The safety of the antioxidant BHA has been questioned in the light of the fact that its consumption leads to cancer in rodents.

2. Sensitive asthmatics have been reported to develop allergic responses to the food color tartrazine.

3. Allergies have been reported to cause even fatal shock.

4. Nitrites can form cancer-causing nitrosamines in foods in which they are added as preservatives.

5. MSG intake of 1.5g or more can result in acute illness characterized by burning or tingling sensation on face, neck and head, tightness, stiffness or pressure in chest and facial muscles. This is the ―Chinese Restaurant Syndrome‖ because these symptoms have been seen in people who had consumed Chinese food.

4. High levels of erythrosine intake have been associated with thyroid tumors.

Ponceau 4R, Tartrazine and Sunset Yellow FCF have provoked allergic reactions in several individuals even at low levels of intake. The allergic responses vary rashes to swelling and worsening of the condition ofpatients with asthma.

asthma

boric acid was widely used as a food preservative from the 1870s to the 1920s, but was banned after World War I due to its toxicity, as demonstrated in animal and human studies.

During World War II the urgent need for cheap, available food preservatives led to it being used again, but it was finally banned in the 1950s..

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