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Food Lipids: Chemistry, Nutrition, and Biotechnology

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Vitamins A, D, E, <strong>and</strong> K have been added.’’ Vitamins A, D, E, <strong>and</strong> K are required<br />

to be added as shown (Table 7) to protect consumers from depleting their essential<br />

vitamins (51). In other words, the added vitamins will compensate for the amounts<br />

that are not absorbed due to olestra’s interference with their absorption when olestra<br />

is eaten at the same time as foods containing the vitamins.<br />

Olestra has the potential to benefit some segments of the population. From the<br />

available data, this substance is considered safe <strong>and</strong> nontoxic: because olestra is not<br />

digested or absorbed, no major component of it is available to produce unsafe or<br />

toxic effects (51). Research has shown that olestra is not genotoxic <strong>and</strong> does not<br />

affect reproduction or cause birth defects when consumed at certain levels. The longterm<br />

effects on humans of olestra use are open to debate. The published estimated<br />

daily intake (EDI) of olestra is 7 g/person for chronic consumption by the 90th<br />

percentile snack eaters <strong>and</strong> 20 g/person for short-term consumption (51).<br />

<strong>Food</strong>s made with olestra compared with their commercially available counterparts<br />

taste the same, have the same flavor, texture, <strong>and</strong> appearance, <strong>and</strong> perhaps are<br />

less oily than the commercial product (51). Recent studies showed that olestra was<br />

not associated with increased incidence or severity of gastrointestinal symptoms<br />

(69,70).<br />

VI. SAFETY AND REGULATORY UPDATES<br />

For FDA approval of any new food additive, the petitioner must conduct toxicological,<br />

clinical, gastrointestinal, <strong>and</strong> nutritional testing to prove that the compound is<br />

safe <strong>and</strong> submit a food additive petition (FAP). Since the discovery of sucrose fatty<br />

acid polyester (olestra) in 1968 by Mattson <strong>and</strong> Volpenhein, extensive studies have<br />

been carried out in seven different species of animals, including long-term studies<br />

in monkeys <strong>and</strong> over 60 clinical trials involving over 8000 men, women, <strong>and</strong> children<br />

in several universities <strong>and</strong> medical research centers. The results show that olestra is<br />

safe: it is not absorbed or metabolized; it is nontoxic, nonmutagenic, <strong>and</strong> noncarcinogenic;<br />

<strong>and</strong> it does not affect reproduction or cause birth defects (48,59,62,71–75).<br />

Olestra is biodegradable in sludge-amended soils <strong>and</strong> does not adversely affect the<br />

physical properties of the soil. It is not toxic to plants <strong>and</strong> animals. Gastrointestinal<br />

testing revealed that olestra does not affect gastrointestinal morphology, transit rate,<br />

bile acid physiology, bowel movement, pancreatic response, or intestinal microflora<br />

to any appreciable extent. It does not significantly affect the absorption or efficacy<br />

of orally dosed lipid-soluble drugs such as diazepam (tranquilizer), propranolol (cardiovascular<br />

agent), aspirin (analgesic), ethinyl estradiol (oral contraceptive), <strong>and</strong><br />

norethindrone (oral contraceptive) (51).<br />

The results reported by Miller et al. (64) indicated that sucrose polyester was<br />

not toxic when fed at 10% level to dogs in a 20-month study. No SPE was detected<br />

in the liver, heart, kidney, spleen, lymph nodes, <strong>and</strong> adipose tissues of 26 monkeys<br />

fed SPE at 0, 2, 4, or 6% on the diets for 2 months. Also, no SPE was detected in<br />

liver of these monkeys after 2 years of 9% SPE feeding. Daily consumption of 18<br />

g of SPE did not affect the absorption or efficacy of the highly lipophilic oral contraceptives<br />

containing 300 �g of norgestrel <strong>and</strong> 30 �g of ethinyl estradiol (Lo/Oral-<br />

28) after 28 days (76). SPE is not genotoxic in the Salmonella/mammalian microsome<br />

test, the L5178Y thymidine kinate (TK �/�) mouse lymphoma assay, an<br />

unscheduled DNA synthesis array in primary rat hepatocytes, or an in vitro cyto-<br />

Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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