Safety evaluation of certain food additives - ipcs inchem

238 SULFITES: ASSESSMENT OF DIETARY EXPOSURE
In the first scenario, the mean concentration of sulfites in each food group
was considered, including zero values (overall, 45% of the products considered
were reported to contain no sulfites). This scenario is aimed at representing
consumers who randomly consume foods that do or do not contain food additives.
In the second scenario, the “zero” values were eliminated, thus assuming that
consumers always consumed foods that contained sulfites. This conservative
scenario simulates a situation of brand loyalty. In both scenarios, the potential
dietary exposure to sulfites was higher among adults than among children owing to
the consumption of wine.
In the first scenario, the potential dietary exposure to sulfites in adults did not
exceed the ADI at the mean but did at the 97.5th percentile (0.83 mg/kg bw per day).
The major contributor to mean dietary exposure in adults was wine, covering 20%
of the ADI. In children, dietary exposure was within the ADI (0.3 mg/kg bw per day)
at the 97.5th percentile.
In the second scenario, dietary exposure at the 97.5th percentile was higher
than in the first scenario and exceeded the ADI in adults (1.1 mg/kg bw per day)
and children (0.9 mg/kg bw per day). In the adults, wine was the main contributor
to mean and high dietary exposure (covering 20% of the ADI at the mean), followed
by dried fruits (covering about 5% of the ADI at the mean). Processed potatoes,
peeled potatoes and dried fruits were the main contributors to mean and high dietary
exposure in children (with each of these food groups covering about 10% of the ADI
at the mean).
In Lebanon, dietary exposures to sulfites were calculated by combining the
consumption data for selected foods in 230 children and adolescents with the mean
analytical residue levels in the food as consumed, after cooking (Soubra et al.,
2007). The mean dietary exposure to sulfites was within the ADI (63%), whereas it
was greater than the ADI (214%) at the 95th percentile. The major contributor was
nuts, covering 178% of the ADI in high consumers. Overall, dietary exposure was
greater than the ADI in 10% of subjects. The Committee noted that, owing to the
small size of the Lebanese sample, the high percentiles that were assessed bear
significant uncertainty and the true high percentile of dietary exposure could be
higher or lower.
4. EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In its previous evaluation of sulfites in 2000, the Committee noted that the
use of sulfites at the MLs proposed in the draft Codex GSFA would lead to dietary
exposure in excess of the ADI. As a result, the MLs for sulfites are now lower in the
current version of the Codex GSFA. However, a number of national governments
have not yet reacted to the new MLs.
In the present evaluation, dietary exposure was assessed in a number of
Member States based on analytical determinations in products on the market and
in ready-to-consume products after cooking treatment. Sulfite residues were
sometimes found to be greater than the national MLs and the MLs of the current
Codex GSFA—in particular for non-alcoholic beverages and dried fruit.