Safety evaluation of curdlan as a food additive.

ABSTRACT: The EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF) provides a scientific opinion on the safety of curdlan as a new food additive used as firming and gelling agent, stabiliser, thickener. Curdlan is a high molecular weight polysaccharide consisting of β-1,3-linked glucose units, produced by fermentation from Rhizobium radiobacter biovar 1 strain NTK-u. The toxicological dataset consisted of sub-chronic, chronic and carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity studies as well as genotoxicity. In vivo data showed that curdlan is not absorbed as such but is extensively metabolised by the gut microbiota into CO₂ and other innocuous compounds. Curdlan was not genotoxic and was well-tolerated with no overt organ-specific toxicity. Effects observed at very high do

SUBMITTER: EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF) 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11381958 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature