Buffered vinegar as a food additive assessed for safety
What it found
The authors found no safety concern when buffered vinegar is used at the proposed maximum or typical levels in food.
They could not reach a conclusion for uses at quantum satis because exposure could not be estimated.
What they found
Exposure estimates
At the proposed maximum or typical use levels, average exposure to buffered vinegar ranged from 8.9 mg per kg body weight per day in infants to 280.3 mg per kg body weight per day in children. The highest exposures came from soups and broth, and from bread and rolls.
No biological data needed
The applicant did not provide animal or lab safety tests. The authors agreed this was acceptable because buffered vinegar breaks down into acetate, a natural part of the diet and the human body, and EFSA previously said an acceptable daily intake is not needed.
Sodium content
Buffered vinegar may contain up to 30% sodium, which could add to the sodium people get from food.
Stability in food
Tests showed buffered vinegar remained stable for up to 36 months in liquid form and 24 months in powder form. In minced beef, acetic acid levels stayed stable over 15 days, though colour and flavour changed after 8 days.
Toxic elements
The authors looked at possible exposure to arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury from buffered vinegar. They noted the proposed limits for these elements were much higher than the amounts actually found in batches.
What the authors conclude
“The Panel concluded that there is no safety concern for the use of buffered vinegar as a food additive at the proposed maximum/typical use levels.”
Also in their conclusions
- They concluded that there is no safety concern for the use of buffered vinegar as a food additive at the proposed maximum/typical use levels.
- They could not conclude on the safety for the proposed uses at quantum satis as Group I food additive since the resulting exposure could not be estimated.
How it was done
The European Commission asked EFSA to assess the safety of buffered vinegar when used as a preservative in a range of foods.
The authors reviewed the applicant's dossier, including how buffered vinegar is made, its stability in food, and estimated how much people of different ages might eat. They used food consumption data from 42 surveys in 22 European countries.
What it can’t tell you
- The authors could not estimate exposure for uses at quantum satis, so they could not assess safety for those uses.
- The exposure estimates assume all foods in the proposed categories contain buffered vinegar at the maximum or typical levels, which likely overestimates actual exposure.
The paper
- Title
- Safety evaluation of buffered vinegar as a food additive
- Type
- Scientific opinion of the European Food Safety Authority
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY-ND. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF), Younes M, Aquilina G, et al (2022). Safety evaluation of buffered vinegar as a food additive. EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7351Free full textPubMed 35795292DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error