Nutrient sources guidance – have a say on coming update

EFSA’s food additives experts want your input before they revise guidance on submitting scientific information for the safety evaluation of nutrient An element or compound needed for normal growth, development and health maintenance. Essential nutrients cannot be made by the body and must, therefore, be consumed from food. sources used as ingredients in manufactured food. This is an opportunity to use your information, experience and insights to help us produce modern, made-to-measure guidance that protects European consumers.

EFSA assesses two things in this type of evaluation: the safety of the source and the bioavailability A term to describe how much of a substance gets into the blood through a variety of routes, including the diet. It may refer to vitamins, additives, pesticides or medicines. of the nutrient from the source.

The current guidance needs to be updated in light of the experience of EFSA’s experts assessing nutrient sources over recent years and the evolving principles of risk assessment A specialised field of applied science that involves reviewing scientific data and studies in order to evaluate risks associated with certain hazards. It involves four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure assessment and risk characterisation. in the area of food ingredients. Comments are welcome, by 20 July 2016, from stakeholders, including relevant food sector industry associations, academia, consumers groups and other interested parties.

• Concept paper on the revision of the ‘Guidance on submissions for safety evaluation of sources of nutrients or of other ingredients proposed for use in the manufacture of foods’