Acetaldehyde as a Food Flavoring Substance: Aspects of Risk Assessment
Alexander T. Cartus, Dirk W. Lachenmeier, Sabine Guth, Angelika Roth, Matthias Baum, Patrick Diel, Gerhard Eisenbrand, Barbara Engeli, Michael Hellwig, Hans‐Ulrich Humpf, Hans‐Georg Joost, Sabine E. Kulling, Alfonso Lampen, Doris Marko, Pablo Steinberg, Wim Wätjen, Jan G. Hengstler, Angela Mally
Abstract
The Senate Commission on Food Safety (SKLM) of the German Research Foundation (DFG) has reviewed the currently available data in order to assess the health risks associated with the use of acetaldehyde as a flavoring substance in foods. Acetaldehyde is genotoxic in vitro. Following oral intake of ethanol or inhalation exposure to acetaldehyde, systemic genotoxic effects of acetaldehyde in vivo cannot be ruled out (induction of DNA adducts and micronuclei). At present, the key question of whether acetaldehyde is genotoxic and mutagenic in vivo after oral exposure cannot be answered conclusively. There is also insufficient data on human exposure. Consequently, it is currently not possible to reliably assess the health risk associated with the use of acetaldehyde as a flavoring substance. However, considering the genotoxic potential of acetaldehyde as well as numerous data gaps that need to be filled to allow a comprehensive risk assessment, the SKLM considers that the use of acetaldehyde as a flavoring may pose a safety concern. For reasons of precautionary consumer protection, the SKLM recommends that the scientific base for approval of the intentional addition of acetaldehyde to foods as a flavoring substance should be reassessed.