The EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food （ANS� provides a scientific opinion re-e valuating the safety of agar （E 406� as a food additive. In the European unio （EU）， agar （E 406� has been e valuated by the Scientific Committee for Food （SCF� in 1989, who allocated to agar a not specified acceptable daily intake （ADI）， and by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives （JECFA� in 1974, who co nsidered very few data to co nclude to a not limited ADI. According to the co nceptual f ramework for the risk assessment of certain food additives re-e valuated under Commission Regulation （EU� No 257/2010, the Panel co nsidered that the safety assessment is limited to the use and use levels received from industry in 7 food categories for which data were co nsidered in this opinion out of the 70 food categories in which agar （E 406� is authorised; an indicative high refined exposure assessment up to 26 mg/kg body weight （bw� per day has been calculated in toddlers at the 95th percentile （non-brand-loyal scenario）； agar is unlikely to be absorbed unchanged and slightly fermented by intestinal microbiota; sufficient toxicity data were available; there was no co ncern with respect to the genotoxicity of agar; no carcinogenic effects were reported in carcinogenicity studies in mice and rats at the doses of 4,500 mg/kg bw per day and 2,500 mg/kg bw per day, respectively, the highest doses tested; oral intake of agar �?,500 mg/person correspo nding to 64 mg/kg bw per day� was tolerated in humans for 12 weeks without noticeable side effects. Therefore, the Panel co ncluded that there is no need for a numerical ADI for agar and that there is no safety co ncern for the general population at the refined exposure assessment for the reported uses of agar as a food additive.

原文链接：http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/4645