EFSA has established a safe intake level for glutamic acid and glutamates used as food additives after re-evaluating their safety. The Authority also concluded that estimated dietary exposure to glutamic acid and glutamates may exceed not only the safe level but also doses associated with adverse effects in humans for some population groups. On this basis, EFSA’s experts recommend reviewing the maximum permitted levels for these food additives.

Researchers from Hebrew SeniorLife’s Institute for Aging Research (IFAR), Wageningen University, Tilburg University, University of Reading, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have discovered that higher intake of dairy foods, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, is associated with higher volumetric bone mineral density and vertebral strength at the spine in men. Dairy intake seems to be most beneficial for men over age 50, and continued to have positive associations irrespective of serum vitamin D status.

A study conducted by researchers in California and France has found that meat protein is associated with a sharp increased risk of heart disease while protein from nuts and seeds is beneficial for the human heart.

DuPont Nutrition & Health and Inbiose NV celebrate regulatory approval of their first human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) ingredient for infant formula in the European market. Human milk oligosaccharides, complex carbohydrates found in breast milk, are an important breakthrough innovation in infant formula, developing a product with more of the health benefits associated with human milk.

Following a case of poisoning caused by a potato dish, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is reminding people about the correct handling of potatoes. Glycoalkaloids, of which solanine is an important derivative, are natural ingredients of the potato, but the ingestion of higher amounts of glycoalkaloids can lead to poisoning in humans. “Although only a few cases of poisoning caused by potato dishes have been reported and documented in the last 100 years, green and strongly germinating potatoes should not be consumed in order to avoid health risks” says BfR President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel. Based on the latest level of available knowledge, the BfR has derived a provisional NOAEL (No Observed Adverse Effect Level) of 0.5 milligrams (mg) of glycoalkaloids per kilogram (kg) body weight and day. This equates to the highest dose at which no undesired health effects were observed. To avoid an exceedance of the NOAEL, the glycoalkaloid content in table potatoes should be no higher than 100 mg per kg fresh weight. Up to now, potatoes with a glycoalkaloid content of up to 200 mg per kg have generally been considered safe.