Allowed daily dose
The allowable daily dose ( ETD ; English acceptable daily intake , ADI ) refers to the dose of a substance, such as a food additive , pesticide or a medicament which is considered at a lifetime of daily intake as a medically safe. If it is unwanted impurities, one speaks of a tolerated daily dose (engl. Tolerable daily intake , TDI )
The ETD value is given in milligrams or micrograms per kilogram of body weight and day. Synergy effects (interaction of different food additives) are only partially taken into account.
Establishing the limit values
The ETD value is usually determined by feeding experiments on rats and mice . The substance to be examined is offered to them in differently high doses or force-fed. In this way, a dosage can be found at which no recognizable damage occurs (No Observable (Adverse) Effect Level ( NOEL or NOAEL )). Divided by a safety factor of 100 to 1000, depending on the substance, results in the ETD value.
The safety factor is not always the same. It takes into account the transferability of the experiment to other individuals of the test species (10 ×) and to humans (10 ×). It can be increased or decreased depending on the substance. There is no conclusive reason why it must have the respective height. Substances that are not toxic or otherwise harmful are given an unlimited ETD value (ADI not limited), and occasionally a provisional ETD value is also assigned.
International expert committees decide on the setting of the ETD value:
- In Germany, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment is involved in deriving the ETD.
- In the European Union , the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in Parma is responsible for deriving the ETD.
- Internationally a panel of experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint FAO / WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)
Limits derived therefrom
Taking into account other routes of exposure for the individual substances which are made from the ADI values commodities can migrate into contact with food into it, the specific migration limits ( English S pecific M igration L imits calculated). These are given in milligrams per kilogram of food or food simulant. A consumption of 1 kg or 200 g for fatty foods and a body weight of 60 kg is assumed.
See also
- Acute reference dose, ARfD, risk assessment of pesticides in food
