L(+)-tartaric acid and tartrates re-assessed as food additives
What it found
The authors set a group acceptable daily intake of 240 mg per kg body weight per day for L(+)-tartaric acid and related tartrates.
Estimated intakes for all population groups stayed below that level.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Metabolism differs by species
The way L(+)-tartaric acid and its potassium sodium salt are handled in the body differs between species, with more absorbed in rats than in humans.
Toxicology studies
No toxic effects, including kidney toxicity, were seen in toxicology studies that tested the L(+)-form.
Genetic damage
There was no sign that tartaric acid or its sodium and potassium salts could damage genes.
Cancer in rats
In a long-term rat study, no sign of cancer was reported for monosodium L(+)-tartrate at the highest dose tested of 3,100 mg/kg body weight per day.
Pregnancy and development
Available studies on effects during pregnancy or on development reported no relevant effects. No studies on reproduction were available, but no effects on reproductive organs were seen in the long-term toxicity study.
Other findings
New intake limit
The authors set a group acceptable daily intake of 240 mg/kg body weight per day, expressed as tartaric acid, using a total uncertainty factor of 10. Estimated intakes for different population groups did not go above this level.
What the authors conclude
“The Panel established a group ADI for l(+)-tartaric acid-tartrates (E 334-337 and E 354) of 240 mg/kg bw per day, expressed as tartaric acid, by applying the total uncertainty factor of 10 to the reference point of 3,100 mg sodium tartrate/kg bw per day, approximately to 2,440 mg tartaric acid/kg bw per day.”
Also in their conclusions
- They concluded that the data on systemic availability were robust enough to derive a chemical-specific uncertainty factor instead of the usual default uncertainty factor of 100.
- They established a group ADI for l(+)-tartaric acid-tartrates (E 334-337 and E 354) of 240 mg/kg bw per day, expressed as tartaric acid.
- They made some recommendations.
How it was done
The authors re-assessed these additives because they had been previously evaluated, with an acceptable daily intake of 30 mg/kg body weight per day set in 1990 for L(+)-tartaric acid and its potassium and sodium salts.
They looked at metabolism and toxicology studies of L(+)-tartaric acid and its potassium, sodium and calcium salts, including a chronic rat study at the highest dose tested of 3,100 mg/kg body weight per day. They also compared estimated intakes across population groups with the new group acceptable daily intake.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- The cancer and toxicity findings come from animal studies, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The intake estimates are based on models of how much people might eat, not on measured intakes.
The paper
- Title
- Re-evaluation of l(+)-tartaric acid (E 334), sodium tartrates (E 335), potassium tartrates (E 336), potassium sodium tartrate (E 337) and calcium tartrate (E 354) as food additives
- Type
- Scientific opinion of the European Food Safety Authority
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF), Younes M, Aquilina G, et al (2020). Re-evaluation of l(+)-tartaric acid (E 334), sodium tartrates (E 335), potassium tartrates (E 336), potassium sodium tartrate (E 337) and calcium tartrate (E 354) as food additives. EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2020.6030Free full textPubMed 32874248DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error