JECFA Evaluates Safety of Certain Food Additives; Monk Fruit Presents Potential Concern
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) has published the summary and conclusions from its 102nd meeting, held June 9–18, 2026 in Nanjing, China. During the meeting the committee conducted safety evaluations and reviewed specifications for food additives, processing aids, and a previous cargo substance.
Among the key outcomes, JECFA:
- Established temporary acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) for monk fruit extract and neohesperidin dihydrochalcone (NHDC), at 0–10 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) of bodyweight per day (bw/day) and 0–3.8 mg/kg bw/day, respectively
- Confirmed existing ADIs for polysorbates (0–25 mg/kg bw/day) and steviol glycosides (0–4 mg/kg bw/day)
- Retained the current maximum tolerable daily intake (MTDI) for phosphates
- Concluded that calcium lignosulfonate liquid meets the criteria for acceptability as a previous cargo (i.e., the substance transported in a cargo container during its immediately preceding journey) for edible fats and oils
- Revised specifications for several additives and processing aids, including glycolipids, thaumatin II, tricalcium phosphate, activated carbon, bentonite, diatomaceous earth, and potassium hydrogen sulfite.
JECFA Raises Potential Safety Concerns
The committee identified safety concerns for monk fruit extract under proposed use levels and maximum levels. Estimated dietary exposure for children was 38 mg/kg bw/day, approximately four times higher than the temporary ADI.
JECFA also noted high dietary exposure estimates for β-apo-8′-carotenal, reaching 0.45 mg/kg bw/day for toddlers in the EU, exceeding the existing ADI of 0.3 mg/kg bw/day.
The permanent group ADI for sorbitan esters was also withdrawn, pending additional genotoxicity data.
Recommendations and Needs
JECFA requested additional toxicological, manufacturing, analytical, and exposure data for several additives, including monk fruit extract, neohesperidin dihydrochalcone (NHDC), polysorbates, and sorbitan esters, to complete safety evaluations or remove tentative specification status. The committee also reiterated recommendations to review Codex food additive provisions for β-carotenes and β-apo-8′-carotenal and encouraged updates to support future risk assessments.
Additionally, JECFA recommended discontinuing the use of older dietary exposure screening methods in favor of refined exposure assessments based on individual food consumption data and encouraged the use of more comprehensive, updated contaminant and additive use-level data to support future risk assessments.
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