EFSA 2021 — Aluminium in Food: Sources, Safety, and Regulations (Q&A)
This EFSA factsheet (last updated December 2021) provides a regulatory and safety overview of aluminium in the diet, covering natural food sources, food additives, cookware migration, and applicable EU regulations. It references the 2008 EFSA safety evaluation establishing a TWI of 1 mg Al/kg body weight/week and the 2011 JECFA review that set a higher PTWI of 2 mg/kg bw/week. The document concludes that dietary aluminium does not constitute a risk in people with normal kidney function, but notes that EU regulations since 2012 have reduced permitted use levels for aluminium-containing food additives to ensure EFSA’s TWI is not exceeded.
Key numbers
- EFSA TWI (2008): 1 mg aluminium/kg body weight/week
- JECFA PTWI (2011): 2 mg aluminium/kg body weight/week
- Natural food sources with notable Al content: tea leaves, cocoa, spices, herbs, cereals and cereal-based foods, mushrooms, spinach, radish, lettuce, dairy and soya products including infant formula
- Drinking water identified as a minor source of dietary aluminium exposure
- Aluminium constitutes approximately 8% of the earth’s crust by weight (background context)
Methods (brief)
This is a regulatory Q&A document synthesising findings from the EFSA 2008 AFC panel opinion (EFSA Journal 6(7):754) and the 2013 EFSA dietary exposure assessment for aluminium-containing food additives (EFSA Journal 10(4):411E). No primary measurement data; no LOD/LOQ reported. The document references EU Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 (materials in contact with food), Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 as amended by EU No 380/2012 and EU No 923/2014 (conditions of use and use levels for aluminium-containing food additives).
Implications
Certification: The EFSA TWI of 1 mg/kg bw/week and JECFA PTWI of 2 mg/kg bw/week are the operative dietary-Al safety benchmarks for EU and global contexts respectively. HMT&C product threshold-setting pages for products containing high-Al ingredients (tea, cocoa, spices) should reference these values.
Courses: Useful for the aluminium module: explains ionic aluminium as the bioavailable form, low intestinal absorption and efficient renal clearance as the mechanism of low concern in healthy individuals, and the vulnerability exception for kidney-impaired populations.
App: Confirms which ingredient categories carry elevated Al as a class signal: tea, cocoa, spices/herbs, mushrooms, spinach — useful for Al contamination-profile priors when per-ingredient concentration data is absent.