Dataset Information

Re-evaluation of xanthan gum (E 415) as a food additive.

ABSTRACT: The Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS) provides a scientific opinion re-evaluating the safety of xanthan gum (E 415) as food additive. Following the conceptual framework for the risk assessment of certain food additives re-evaluated under Commission Regulation (EU) No 257/2010, the Panel considered that adequate exposure and toxicity data were available. Based on the reported use levels, a refined exposure of up to 64 mg/kg bw per day in children for the general population, 38 mg/kg bw per day for children consumers only of food supplements at the high level exposure and 115 mg/kg bw per day for infants consuming foods for special medical purposes and special formulae (FSMPs), were estimated. Xanthan gum (E 415) is unlikely to be absorbed intact and is expected to be fermented by intestinal microbiota. No adverse effects were reported at the highest doses tested in chronic and carcinogenicity studies and there is no concern with respect to the genotoxicity. Repeated oral intake by adults of xanthan gum up to 214 mg/kg bw per day for ten days was well tolerated, but some individuals experienced abdominal discomfort, an undesirable but not adverse effect. The Panel concluded that there is no need for a numerical ADI for xanthan gum (E 415), and that there is no safety concern for the general population at the refined exposure assessment of xanthan gum (E 415) as food additive. Considering the outcome of clinical studies and post-marketing surveillance, the Panel concluded that there is no safety concern from the use of xanthan gum (E 415) in FSMPs for infants and young children at concentrations reported by the food industry. The current re-evaluation of xanthan gum (E 415) as a food additive is not considered to be applicable for infants under the age of 12 weeks.

SUBMITTER: EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS)

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7009887 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Re-evaluation of xanthan gum (E 415) as a food additive.

Mortensen Alicja A Aguilar Fernando F Crebelli Riccardo R Di Domenico Alessandro A Frutos Maria Jose MJ Galtier Pierre P Gott David D Gundert-Remy Ursula U Lambré Claude C Leblanc Jean-Charles JC Lindtner Oliver O Moldeus Peter P Mosesso Pasquale P Oskarsson Agneta A Parent-Massin Dominique D Stankovic Ivan I Waalkens-Berendsen Ine I Woutersen Rudolf Antonius RA Wright Matthew M Younes Maged M Brimer Leon L Christodoulidou Anna A Lodi Federica F Gelgelova Petra P Dusemund Birgit B

EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority 20170714 7

The Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS) provides a scientific opinion re-evaluating the safety of xanthan gum (E 415) as food additive. Following the conceptual framework for the risk assessment of certain food additives re-evaluated under Commission Regulation (EU) No 257/2010, the Panel considered that adequate exposure and toxicity data were available. Based on the reported use levels, a refined exposure of up to 64 mg/kg bw per day in children for the general pop ...[more]

PMID: 32625570

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Project description:This opinion deals with the re-evaluation of polydextrose (E 1200) when used as a food additive. The Panel followed the conceptual framework for the risk assessment of certain additives and considered that: adequate exposure estimates were available; the margin of safety (MOS)/margin of exposure (MOE) for arsenic was between 0.5-14 and 8.5 for lead; the exhaustions of the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) for cadmium would be 165%, 10% for mercury, whereas the exhaustion of the tolerable daily intake (TDI) for nickel would be 9%; the absorption is limited and part of polydextrose is fermented in the large intestine into short-chain fatty acids (SCFA); adequate toxicity data were available; there is no concern with respect to genotoxicity; no adverse effects were reported in subchronic studies in rats, dogs or monkeys nor in chronic or carcinogenicity studies in mice and rats at the highest doses tested of up 12,500 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day and 15,000 mg/kg bw per day, respectively; the nephrocalcinosis in dogs given high doses of polydextrose was considered to be a treatment-related but a secondary effect related to diarrhoea, and hence not relevant for the risk assessment; no adverse effects were reported in reproductive or developmental toxicity studies in rats administered up to 10,000 mg polydextrose/kg bw per day, or in a developmental toxicity study in rabbits up to 1,818 mg/kg bw per day (the highest dose tested). Therefore, the Panel concluded that there is no need for numerical acceptable daily intake (ADI) for polydextrose (E 1200), and that there is no safety concern for the reported uses and use levels of polydextrose as a food additive. The Panel recommended that European Commission considers to lower the maximum limit for lead and to introduce limits for arsenic, cadmium and mercury in the EU specifications for polydextrose (E 1200), and to verify that polydextrose-N as a food additive (E 1200) is no longer marketed in the EU.

Dataset Information

Re-evaluation of xanthan gum (E 415) as a food additive.

Publications

Re-evaluation of xanthan gum (E 415) as a food additive.

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