Long‐term dietary exposure to different food colours in young children living in different European countries

In this document, we report on the long-term dietary exposure to 40 different food colours in young children living in 11 European countries. Food consumption data of children aged 1 up to 10 years (in Cyprus 11 up to 14 years) were combined with food colour concentrations as supplied by EFSA using statistical models to calculate exposure. Food consumption data were all categorised according to a harmonised system to allow for linkage with food colour concentration data in a standardised way. Two different exposure scenarios were calculated for each food colour: the maximum permitted usage levels in the relevant Community legislation (here called the „MPL scenario‟) and the actual maximum reported usage patterns (here called the „maximum usage level scenario‟). For some food colours extra scenarios were considered depending on the percentage of coating (5 or 20%), e.g. food colours permitted in the coating of chocolate products. For lycopene, five different scenarios were considered. Although the results showed differences in exposure between countries, such differences should be interpreted with caution, as different methodological limitations rather than true exposure differences might be partly responsible for such findings. It is clear from this exercise that food consumption data in different countries can be categorised in a standard way to allow for harmonised exposure modelling. Methodological issues related to exposure 1 EFSA-Q-2010-00787. Accepted for Publication on 5 May 2010. 2 Current affiliation is „National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands‟ Long-term dietary exposure to food colours in European children