Agar as a food additive: safety re-evaluation
What it found
Agar was not linked to cancer in mice or rats, and people took 4,500 mg a day for 12 weeks without noticeable side effects.
The authors say there is no safety concern at the amounts used in food.
What they found
Studies in people
Tolerance in people
People took 4,500 mg of agar a day, about 64 mg/kg body weight per day, for 12 weeks with no noticeable side effects.
Animal and lab studies
Cancer studies in animals
In mice and rats, no carcinogenic effects were reported at the highest doses tested, 4,500 mg/kg body weight per day for mice and 2,500 mg/kg body weight per day for rats.
How agar behaves in the body
Agar is unlikely to be absorbed unchanged and is slightly fermented by gut bacteria.
Genetic damage
There was no concern about agar damaging genes.
Other findings
Estimated intake
A high refined estimate of intake was up to 26 mg/kg body weight per day in toddlers at the 95th percentile, in a non-brand-loyal scenario.
What the authors conclude
“Therefore, the Panel concluded that there is no need for a numerical ADI for agar and that there is no safety concern for the general population at the refined exposure assessment for the reported uses of agar as a food additive.”
Also in their conclusions
- They concluded that there is no need for a numerical acceptable daily intake for agar.
- They stated that there is no safety concern for the general population at the refined exposure assessment for the reported uses of agar as a food additive.
How it was done
Agar had been assessed before, in 1989 by the EU Scientific Committee for Food and in 1974 by a joint FAO/WHO expert committee, which set no numerical daily limit. The authors re-evaluated it under a European regulation.
They looked at toxicity and cancer studies in mice and rats, and at a human study where people took 4,500 mg of agar a day for 12 weeks. They also estimated how much agar people could take in from food, using data from industry on 7 food categories.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- The human study lasted 12 weeks, so it cannot show what happens over many years.
- The cancer studies were in mice and rats, so they cannot show cancer outcomes in people.
The paper
- Title
- Re-evaluation of agar (E 406) as a food additive
- Type
- Scientific opinion of the European Food Safety Authority
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS), Mortensen A, Aguilar F, et al (2016). Re-evaluation of agar (E 406) as a food additive. EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4645Free full textPubMed 42006017DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error