{"id":7827,"date":"2024-11-20T10:09:14","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T07:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/?p=7827"},"modified":"2025-06-12T12:33:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T09:33:53","slug":"silicon-dioxide-e551-as-a-food-additive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/silicon-dioxide-e551-as-a-food-additive\/","title":{"rendered":"EFSA Re-evaluation of Silicon Dioxide (E 551) as a Food Additive for Infants"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On October 17, 2024, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.efsa.europa.eu\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)<\/a> published an updated scientific opinion on the safety of silicon dioxide (E 551) as a food additive. Commonly used as an anti-caking agent, E 551 prevents powdered foods from clumping together and is widely permitted in the EU for various food products, including those intended for infants under 16 weeks. EFSA\u2019s re-evaluation addresses gaps identified in its earlier 2018 assessment, with a particular focus on risks associated with nano-sized particles in foods for young infants.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/silicon-dioxide-e551-as-a-food-additive\/#Background_and_Previous_Findings\" >Background and Previous Findings<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/silicon-dioxide-e551-as-a-food-additive\/#Purpose_of_the_New_Evaluation\" >Purpose of the New Evaluation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/silicon-dioxide-e551-as-a-food-additive\/#Recommendations_for_Regulatory_Changes\" >Recommendations for Regulatory Changes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/silicon-dioxide-e551-as-a-food-additive\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Background_and_Previous_Findings\"><\/span><strong>Background and Previous Findings<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Silicon dioxide (E 551)<\/strong> is a synthetic amorphous silica (SAS) used to enhance the texture of foods by preventing clumping. Earlier, in 2018, EFSA\u2019s Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources (ANS Panel) conducted a re-evaluation of E 551. However, it found <strong>limited data<\/strong> <strong>available<\/strong> to fully characterize E 551 or establish an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for it, especially for young infants. The ANS Panel had concluded with the <strong>need for further research on nano-sized particles of E 551<\/strong> to evaluate their safety comprehensively.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Purpose_of_the_New_Evaluation\"><\/span><strong>Purpose of the New Evaluation<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The European Commission (EC) later requested EFSA to address the data gaps identified in 2018. EFSA\u2019s new assessment, carried out by the Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF Panel), aimed to examine the <strong>specific health risks associated with E 551 in food products for infants below 16 weeks<\/strong> and its potential <strong>health implications<\/strong> for other groups.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-7823\" src=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/vecteezy_milk-powder-in-spoon-with-can-and-baby-bottle-milk-bowl-on_5573599-scaled-e1732086594315.jpg\" alt=\"EFSA Re-evaluation of Silicon Dioxide (E 551) as a Food Additive for Infants\" width=\"1024\" height=\"814\" \/><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Recommendations_for_Regulatory_Changes\"><\/span><strong>Recommendations for Regulatory Changes<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among other recommendations and aiming at enhancing safety, the Food Additives and Flavourings Panel (FAF) recommended <strong>updating EU specifications for E 551 by reducing permissible limits for lead, mercury, and arsenic <\/strong>and<strong> setting a maximum limit for aluminium, elements which may be found as impurities in E 551. <\/strong>These measures aim to further protect the population from potential toxic exposure associated with E 551.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">EFSA\u2019s comprehensive re-evaluation concludes that silicon dioxide (E 551) does not pose a health risk to any population group, including infants under 16 weeks. However, due to the presence of potentially harmful impurities, EFSA advises stricter regulations to control the concentration of toxic elements within E 551. This re-evaluation highlights EFSA\u2019s commitment to food safety, and provides valuable insights into managing the safety of food additives containing nano-scale components.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">You can find the original publication of EFSA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.efsa.europa.eu\/en\/plain-language-summary\/re-evaluation-silicon-dioxide-e-551-food-additive-foods-infants-below-16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On October 17, 2024, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published an updated scientific opinion on the safety of silicon dioxide (E 551) as a food additive. Commonly used as an anti-caking agent, E 551 prevents powdered foods from clumping together and is widely permitted in the EU for various food products, including those intended&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7824,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,545,540],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-packaging-legislation-en","category-regulations-policy-en","category-28","category-545","category-540","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7827"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9480,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7827\/revisions\/9480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}