EFSA Lowers ADI on Amaranth

The European Food Safety Authority’s scientific panel on additives has set an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0.15mg/kg body weight a day for amaranth, a food additive.

The panel lowered the ADI from 0.8mg/kg, previously established by the Scientific Committee on Food.

The panel, reviewing the toxicological data, concluded that the red azo dye colour, which can be used to colour foods such as aperitif drinks and fish roe, is neither genotoxic nor carcinogenic.

The panel said that while the mean exposure of adults is far below the ADI, adults regularly consuming high amounts of Americano and aperitif wine drinks containing the colour at the maximum permitted level might exceed the ADI by six times.

Children’s exposure was estimated to be around 30 times lower than the ADI.