Beta-apo-8′-carotenal (E 160e) as a food additive re-evaluated
What it found
In rats, the lowest dose causing kidney changes was 10 mg per kg body weight per day.
The authors used that to set a new acceptable daily intake of 0.05 mg per kg body weight per day.
What they found
Studies in people
How much people take in
Estimates show adults reach the new acceptable daily intake on average and go over it at the 95th percentile. Children reach it on average and go over it at the 95th and 97.5th percentiles.
Animal and lab studies
Kidney changes in rats
In a 13-week rat study, more eosinophilic droplets appeared in the kidneys. The lowest dose causing this was 10 mg of the active ingredient per kg body weight per day.
Reproduction and development
Two studies on reproduction and development found no harmful effects at the highest dose tested, 500 mg per kg body weight per day.
Studies in people and animals
Damage to genetic material
Lab tests and animal studies did not give reason for concern about damage to genetic material.
Other findings
New acceptable daily intake
Using the kidney finding and an uncertainty factor of 200, the authors set an acceptable daily intake of 0.05 mg per kg body weight per day.
What the authors conclude
- They concluded that the available database provides a basis to revise the acceptable daily intake.
- They established an acceptable daily intake of 0.05 mg per kg body weight per day based on the lowest dose causing kidney changes in rats and an uncertainty factor of 200.
- They noted that this new acceptable daily intake is reached or exceeded by some adults and children.
How it was done
The additive had been assessed before, but the earlier acceptable daily intake was withdrawn in 2000. New studies became available after a public call for data.
They looked at lab tests and animal studies, including two 13-week toxicity studies in rats and two studies on reproduction and development. They also estimated how much people might take in from food.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- The kidney and reproduction findings come from rats, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The intake estimates are based on models, not on measured amounts in people.
The paper
- Title
- Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of β-apo-8'-carotenal (E 160e) 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) (2012). Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of β-apo-8'-carotenal (E 160e) as a food additive. EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2012.2499Free full textPubMed 42112002DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error