Guidance for establishing and applying tolerable upper intake levels for vitamins and essential minerals
EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA), Dominique Turck, Torsten Bohn, Montaña Cámara, Jacqueline Castenmiller, Stefaan De Henauw, Karen Ildico Hirsch‐Ernst, Ángeles Jos, Alexandre Maciuk, Inge Mangelsdorf, Breige McNulty, Kristina Pentieva, Alfonso Siani, Frank Thiès, Peter Aggett, Marta Crous‐Bou, Francesco Cubadda, Aymeric Dopter, Susan J. Fairweather‐Tait, Georg Lietz, Harry J McArdle, Giovanni Passeri, Marco Vinceti, Misha F. Vrolijk, Ionut Craciun, Agnès de Sesmaisons Lecarré, Zsuzsanna Horváth, Laura Martino, Silvia Valtueña Martínez, Androniki Naska
Abstract
Vitamins and essential minerals are micronutrients that are required for the normal functioning of the human body. However, they may lead to adverse health effects if consumed in excess. A tolerable upper intake level (UL) is a science-based reference value that supports policy-makers and other relevant actors in managing the risks of excess nutrient intake. EFSA's principles for establishing ULs for vitamins and minerals were originally developed by the Scientific Committee on Food in 2000. This guidance from the EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens provides an updated framework for UL assessments. A draft was published in 2022 and underwent a 2-year piloting period. The present document incorporates revisions based on the experience gained through its practical implementation. It covers aspects related to the planning of the risk assessment (problem formulation and definition of methods) and its implementation (evidence retrieval, appraisal, synthesis, integration, uncertainty analysis). As in the previous framework, the general principles developed for the risk assessment of chemicals in food are applied, i.e. hazard identification, hazard characterisation, intake assessment, risk characterisation. Specific to nutrients are their biochemical and physiological roles and the specific and selective mechanisms that maintain the systemic homeostasis and accumulation of the nutrient in the body. Such considerations must also be taken into account when conducting risk assessments of nutrients.