Sodium aluminium phosphate and aluminium levels in urine of healthy volunteers
What it found
Eating pancakes made with sodium aluminium phosphate more than doubled aluminium levels in urine.
This was measured in 18 healthy adults over seven days.
What they found
Studies in people
Urine aluminium after low-aluminium pancakes
When volunteers ate pancakes with very little aluminium, taking in less than 0.042 mg per day, their urine aluminium stayed about the same as before the test.
Urine aluminium after SALP pancakes
After eating pancakes containing sodium aluminium phosphate, providing 72 mg of aluminium per day, urine aluminium more than doubled compared to starting levels.
Starting urine aluminium levels
Before eating any test pancakes, the typical aluminium level in urine was between 30 and 40 µmol per mol of creatinine.
Antacid comparison test
At the end of the trial, volunteers took an antacid containing 1800 mg of aluminium daily for seven days. This caused urine aluminium to rise ten times above the starting level.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that aluminium from sodium aluminium phosphate in pancake mix is absorbed by the human body.
- They advise that this absorption should be considered when assessing the risks of aluminium in food, especially in countries that use this additive heavily.
How it was done
Food is a major way people take in aluminium, and regular eating of foods with aluminium additives may push intakes above health limits. Scientists do not yet know how much aluminium the body actually absorbs from some of these additives because they dissolve poorly.
Eighteen healthy adult men and women ate pancakes for seven days that either had very little aluminium or a high amount from the additive sodium aluminium phosphate. The volunteers did not know which pancakes they were eating. Researchers then measured aluminium in their urine before and after.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This trial lasted only seven days, so it cannot show what happens to aluminium levels over months or years of eating this additive.
- The study measured aluminium leaving the body in urine, but it cannot show whether that aluminium builds up in organs or causes harm.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden; Swedish National Food Agency, Sweden
The paper
- Title
- Increased urinary excretion of aluminium after ingestion of the food additive sodium aluminium phosphate (SALP) - a study on healthy volunteers
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Glynn A, Lignell S (2019). Increased urinary excretion of aluminium after ingestion of the food additive sodium aluminium phosphate (SALP) - a study on healthy volunteers. Food additives & contaminants. Part A, Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment. doi:10.1080/19440049.2019.1626998PubMed 31192767DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error