EFSA Reevaluates Scientific Opinion for Three Food Colorings
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published safety reassessments of three food additives, Brilliant Black (E 151), Brown HT (E 155) and Brown FK (E 154).
For Brilliant Black, which first gained approval in 1984, EFSA has confirmed the existing acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 5 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight (mg/kg bw). According to the scientific panel, Brilliant Black is used in soft drinks, bakery products and desserts, but “only some children who regularly consume large amounts of foods containing the color might exceed this level of intake.”
EFSA, however, has recommended decreasing by one-half the ADI for Brown HT, setting the new limit at 1.5 mg/kg bw after “adverse effects, such as slightly reduced weight gain, were noted in animals following long-term exposure” to the additive. The reviewers also expressed concern that “exposure to Brown HT could be above the new ADI for adults and children who regularly consume large amounts of foods containing the color.” They particularly observed that, “[f]or example, a child weighing 15 kg consuming more than 1.125 liters (around 3.4 standard-size 330ml cans) of soft drinks containing Brown HT at the maximum reported use level every day would exceed the ADI of 1.5 mg/kg bw.”
The expert panel did not reach a conclusion for the third food coloring, Brown FK, “due to significant limitations in the toxicological data available.” As part of its ongoing reevaluation process, EFSA is scheduled to review approximately 30 remaining food colorings “in the next few years.” See EFSA News Release, April 21, 2010.
