Assessment of dietary exposure to thirteen selected food additives colours, preservatives, antioxidants, stabilizers and emulsifiers and sweeteners in the French population

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a large group of botanical toxins of concern, as they are considered genotoxic carcinogens, with long-term dietary exposure presenting an elevated risk of liver cancer. PAs can contaminate honey through honeybees visiting the flowers of PA-containing plant species. A program of monitoring New Zealand honey has been undertaken over several years to build a comprehensive dataset on the concentration, regional and seasonal distribution, and botanical origin of 18 PAs and PA N-oxides. A bespoke probabilistic exposure model has then been used to assess the averaged lifetime dietary risk to honey consumers, with exposures at each percentile of the model characterized for risk using a margin of exposure from the Joint World Health Organization and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) Benchmark Dose. Survey findings identify the typical PA types for New Zealand honey as lycopsamine, echimidine, retrorsine and senecionine. Regional and seasonal variation is evident in the types and levels of total PAs, linked to the ranges and flowering times of certain plants. Over a lifetime basis, the average exposure an individual will receive through honey consumption is considered within tolerable levels, although there are uncertainties over high and brand-loyal consumers, and other dietary contributors. An average lifetime risk to the general population from PAs in honey is not expected. However, given the uncertainties in the assessment, risk management approaches to limit or reduce exposures through honey are still of value.

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Impacts of dietary exposure to sodium or potassium salts of nitrate and nitrite on the development of Drosophila melanogaster

Interdisciplinary Toxicology ◽

10.1515/intox-2017-0012 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 70-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ashim Kumar Basak ◽

Tridip Chatterjee ◽

Swapan Kumar Ghosh ◽

Amit Chakravarty

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Food Additives ◽

Polytene Chromosomes ◽

Model Organism ◽

Developmental Outcomes ◽

Dietary Exposure ◽

Potassium Nitrate ◽

Toxicological Studies ◽

Nitrate And Nitrite ◽

Third Instar Larvae

AbstractThe effects of four food additives, namely sodium nitrite (NaNO2), sodium nitrate (NaNO3), potassium nitrite (KNO2), and potassium nitrate (KNO3), on animal development were evaluated by using Drosophila melanogster, a model organism. Adult male and female flies were allowed to breed in culture medium, each containing one of 4 concentrations,i.e.10, 20, 30 or 40 mM of the above mentioned salts. The concentration of 40 mM, NaNO2and KNO2 completely arrested the development of the flies. Of the different concentrations of the four salts tested, exposure of flies to 30 mM NaNO2exhibited only significant delays in the initial appearances of third instar larvae, pupae and young adults, along with huge reduction in the number of pupae and young adults compared to controls. Rearrangements like inversions, deletion looping, regional shrinking, as well as highly enlarged puffing,etc.were also observed in the polytene chromosomes of the third instar larvae exposed to 30 mM NaNO2. Developmental outcomes of the flies exposed to varying concentrations of NaNO3and KNO3 did not differ significantly from the controls. Owing to the extensive genetic homology between Drosophila and human and the successful uses of this fly as models in developmental and toxicological studies, we speculate that the experimental results exhibited by this organism in our study strongly advocate for abstaining from the dietary use of NaNO2and KNO2 during human pregnancies to avoid possible negative developmental outcomes.

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Food additive emulsifiers: a review of their role in foods, legislation and classifications, presence in food supply, dietary exposure, and safety assessment

Nutrition Reviews ◽

10.1093/nutrit/nuaa038 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Selina Cox ◽

Alicia Sandall ◽

Leanne Smith ◽

Megan Rossi ◽

Kevin Whelan

Keyword(s):

Health Effects ◽

Food Additives ◽

Dietary Exposure ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Food Additive ◽

Future Research ◽

Concentration Data ◽

Research Attention ◽

Specific Food

Abstract Food additive intakes have increased with the increase in “ultra-processed” food consumption. Food additive emulsifiers have received particular research attention in recent years due to preliminary evidence of adverse gastrointestinal and metabolic health effects. In this review, the use of emulsifiers as food additives is discussed, and the current estimations of exposure to, and safety of, emulsifiers are critically assessed. Food additive emulsifier research is complicated by heterogeneity in additives considered to be emulsifiers and labelling of them on foods globally. Major limitations exist in estimating food additive emulsifier exposure, relating predominantly to a lack of available food occurrence and concentration data. Development of brand-specific food additive emulsifier databases are crucial to accurately estimating emulsifier exposure. Current research on the health effects of food additive emulsifiers are limited to in vitro and murine studies and small, acute studies in humans, and future research should focus on controlled human trials of longer duration.

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