Although food additives play important technological roles in food processing and undergo rigorous safety evaluations before approval, concerns about human exposure persist, particularly for children. Due to limited information in Brazil, this study estimated the intake of food additives in a sample of children aged 1-3 years in Campinas-SP under conservative assumptions (Tier 2b) in order to screen and prioritize substances for refined exposure assessment. Data from a 24-hour dietary recall and a database of 3,300 commercial products were used to select 77 food additives. Estimated daily intakes were calculated using maximum permitted levels established by Brazilian legislation and compared to the Health-Based Guidance Values (HBGV). Fifty-one food additives did not exceed the HBGV and were considered low priority; 14 exceeded only at the 95th percentile of exposure (P95) and were classified as medium priority; and 12 exceeded the HBGV for both mean and P95 intake, being considered high priority. Among the high priority substances, sodium aluminum phosphate (acidic), sodium nitrite, annatto extracts (norbixin-based), and polyglycerol esters of interesterified ricinoleic acid stood out, along with phosphates as group. Given the conservative assumptions, these findings indicate priorities for further studies and regulatory evaluation rather than evidence of actual health risk.
Tordin et al. (Sun,) studied this question.