Risk assessment of “other substances” – Inulin. Opinion of the Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids, Materials in Contact with Food and Cosmetics of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety

Abstract

The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety (VKM) has, at the request of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, assessed the risk of intake of 3 g/day of inulin in food supplements. In the risk characterization, the intake of 5 g/day of inulin from agave and Jerusalem artichoke and 10 g/day of inulin from chicory root and globe artichoke (corresponding to 71 and 143 mg/kg bw per day, respectively, in a 70 kg adult) were chosen as the values for comparison. No specific studies on children (10 to <14 years) and adolescents (14 to <18 years) were identified. Based on the included literature there was no evidence indicating that age affects tolerance for inulin. Therefore, a tolerance as for adults, based on body weight, was assumed for children and adolescents, in the comparison with human data. VKM concludes that it is unlikely that a daily dose of 3 g of inulin from food supplements causes adverse health effects in children (10 to <14 years), adolescents (14 to <18 years) and adults (≥18 years).