Are Custom API Safe to Use with Food Additives

Food additives are not food, they are not consumed as an edible substance. Food additives are chemically produced substances intentionally added to food to suit a purpose (primarily technological) for such food, in the preparation, packaging, processing, manufacturing, storage, and transportation. 

Food additives comprise food-grade substances added to food to maintain/sustain food properties/components. Some of these substances include:

● Preservatives (antioxidants, antimicrobials, and antibrowning agents)

● Coloring agents 

● Texturizing agents (stabilizers and emulsifiers)

● Flavoring agents (flavors, sweeteners, and flavor enhancers)

Food additives are one the safest chemicals used in food preservation due to their lawful control of use, low toxicity, and rigorous safety testing. An example of a safety test we intend to consider below is the compatibility of custom active pharmaceutical ingredients with food additives using an effective, efficient, and scientific testing method.

What is an active pharmaceutical ingredient?

The active ingredient in pharmaceutical medicine is known as an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), mostly custom-made. Custom Active pharmaceutical ingredients are substances made active pharmaceutically and generate a desired pharmacological effect. If these APIs have the desired pharmacological effect, they must undergo a compatibility test with food additives to determine if they are safe. 

The compatibility test means that a composition of custom APIs and food additives can be made without having the desired chemical or physical interaction between additives and active ingredients.

The safety of any food additive that is chemically approved for use is determined by evaluating its tendencies as a toxin, allergen, or carcinogen. So the custom APIs, when mixed with food additives, must not be toxic when used. A toxicology test is also conducted to validate the compatibility of APIs and food additives.

A scientific method of evaluating the toxicity of food additives and APIs composition for compatibility

Toxicity can be evaluated by its effects on the product/consumer (cell, organ, organism, or tissue) or indirectly by assessing biological function altered downstream after acute, chronic, or subchronic exposure to the food additive and API composition. 

To start with, some toxicological information is derived for the food additive and API composition. Secondly, the measure of safety data safe for a particular composition is decided by a level of concern (LOC), i.e., the level of risk to its consumer. Thirdly, the LOC is based on the degree of potential human intake of the composition and its molecular structure (exposure data). Lastly, the initial required evaluation can be adjusted when a substantial or unexpected negative effect is suggested from the data discovered to be in sync with the consumption of a particular additive and API composition. 

Conclusion 

The safety of food additives composed of custom APIs is determined by the results from toxicology evaluation, which are then used to estimate an ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) compared to the EDI (Estimated Daily Intake). If the EDI is less than the ADI, the additive and the API composition are as a result of this considered to be safe and compatible under the recommended usage conditions.