Thirty per cent of food additives authorised in the European Union are still awaiting a re-evaluation of food safety risks by EFSA (European Food Safety Authority). The review of the scientific assessment is seriously delayed, denounces the consumer association Foodwatch. (1)
1) EU, 330 food additives authorised
There are about 330 food additives authorised in Europe. They may be added in certain foodstuffs and sometimes in limited quantities to avoid the risk of overexposure of the population.
With the exception of those used to ensure food safety (preservatives, antioxidants), additives mainly perform ‘cosmetic’ functions typical of ultra-processed foods. NOTE Namely:
– modify the appearance or taste of food (colourings, flavour enhancers, sweeteners) NOTE
– provide a specific consistency (thickeners, gelling agents)
– ensure recipe stability (emulsifiers, anti-caking agents, stabilisers). NOTE
2) ‘Natural’ and synthetic additives
Authorised additives may derive from natural sources or chemical synthesis. However, the ‘natural’ origin of the additive does not mean that it is safe per se, but only that it has been derived from:
– plants (e.g. E100 curcumin from the herb Curcuma longa)
– microorganisms (e.g. E160a(iii) beta-carotene, obtained by fermentation)
– insects (e.g. E120 carminic acid, cochineal carmines)
– algae (e.g. E400 alginic acid from brown algae).
However, extraction techniques may involve the use of solvents, all of which are authorised but sometimes toxic. Foodwatch recalls ‘the case of hexane, a petrochemical solvent authorised for the extraction of many dyes, which is toxic to human health (suspected reproductive toxicity) and the environment’.
3) Organic food, additives under control
Organic food may contain a restricted variety of additives, 52 in all. These have been permitted, under restrictive conditions, following verification that they pose no substantial health risk to consumers.
Even stricter is the Demeter biodynamic certification, which allows very few additives. Among other things, it prohibits nitrites E250-252, alginates E400,401,402, carrageenan E407 and xanthan gum E415, which are instead permitted in organic products. DEMETER NOTE
4) Food Additives in the EU, safety evaluation
Food Additives Regulation (EC) No 1332/2008 states that additives must not, ‘on the basis of the scientific evidence available, pose a safety concern to the health of the consumer at the level of use proposed. (Art. 6).
The safety assessment is entrusted to EFSA. Based on the EFSA opinions, the European Commission, in agreement with the Member States, decides on the authorisation of additives and their conditions of use.
4.1) A flawed system
However, the system described above is weakened by several critical aspect:
-excessive dependence on industry data. For many of the additives to be evaluated, publicly available data (scientific publications and independent studies) are very limited, as EFSA itself admits. The Authority therefore requests data from industry and mainly bases its assessments on them
– incomplete risk assessments. Requests for the data necessary for risk assessment are often unsuccessful in terms of both hazard identification (on important criteria such as endocrine disruption or influence on DNA) and estimating the consequences of exposure, particularly for young children. Risk assessment cannot therefore be carried out on crucial public health aspects
– limited testing on only a few possible toxicities. The tests underestimate long-term cumulative effects, as well as the cocktail effect resulting from exposure to several additives. Complex toxicities such as endocrine disrupting effects or effects on the microbiota are also not or inadequately taken into account. The same shortcoming concerns the integration into the evaluation process of epidemiological studies, which are essential to highlight associations between exposure to several additives and pathologies in combination with toxicological studies.
– Lack of transparency. Only from March 2021 will it be possible to access the data used for the evaluation. Before then, the confidentiality of the data provided by industry prevented this. And it was at that time that the re-evaluation of most additives by EFSA took place NOTE similar opacity on pesticides
– authorisations without an expiry date. Unlike pesticides, additives are authorised without the indication of a date for re-evaluation. This only takes place when the European Commission deems it necessary and instructs EFSA to do so. What interests the Commission decides on is suggested by the case of titanium dioxide. The white, anti-caking dye has long been indicated as dangerous in scientific literature. Only when France banned it on its territory did the Commission instruct EFSA to re-examine it. And, having clarified its genotoxicity, to ban it. NOTE
4.2) Delays in risk reassessment
Not all of the 330 additives currently in use have been evaluated by EFSA. Some were authorised before its establishment in 2003 by a committee reporting to the European Commission (Scientific Committee for Food, which was dissolved that same year).
In 2010, an extensive programme was therefore launched to re-evaluate all additives authorised before 2009. The re-evaluation was due to be completed in 2020, but is well behind schedule, with 30% of the 315 additives authorised before 2009 still to be re-evaluated in July 2024.
5) Under the heel of lobbies
Among the reasons for this delay, explains Foodwatch, ‘EFSA also highlights the difficulties in accessing the data needed for a rigorous evaluation, despite requests for data sent to professionals. In the absence of goodwill on the part of the professionals, the authorisation of additives should therefore be suspended. However, some additives have been reauthorised by the Commission.
The lack of financial resources for agencies such as EFSA is also a clear factor, leading to a worrying asymmetry with the resources of manufacturers who use the substances they are responsible for evaluating‘.
Marta Strinati
Note
(1) Understanding Food Additives: Definitions, Usage, and Standards. Foodwatch. 30.10.24 https://www.foodwatch.org/en/campaigns/additives/understanding-food-additives-definitions-usage-and-standards
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
