Phosphates are essential nutrients (a form of phosphorus), which are present naturally in the human body and are an essential part of our diet. A group of substances commonly referred to as “phosphates” are authorised as food additives in the European Union.
They are added to a wide range of foods for “technological” functions and appear on labels as "emulsifiers", "antioxidants".
Some of them can and may be used in foods for infants and young children.

First ‘combined’ safe intake for phosphates

a spokesperson said: “The panel has re-assessed the safety of phosphates and derived, for the first time, a group acceptable daily intake [ADI] of 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight [mg/kg bw] per day. “Because phosphates are also nutrients and essential to our diets, in our approach we defined an ADI which considers the likely phosphorus intake from various sources, including natural sources and food additives.”
The ADI corresponds to an intake of 2.8 grams of phosphorus per day for an average adult weighing 70kg.
EFSA stated further: “Importantly, the ADI does not apply to people with moderate to severe reduction in kidney function, which is considered a vulnerable population group. This conclusion is based on the recognised effect of high phosphate intake on the kidney.”

Assessing dietary exposure

Dietary exposure was calculated from the total amount of phosphorus from all dietary sources and not limited to the levels in food additives reported by manufacturers. The experts estimated that food additives indicatively contribute between 6 to 30% of the total average intake of phosphorus.
EFSA: “We estimated that dietary exposure to phosphates may exceed the new ADI for infants, toddlers and children with average consumption of phosphates in their diet. This is also the case for adolescents whose diet is high in phosphates.”
“The data we had did not give rise to safety concerns in infants below 16 weeks of age consuming formula and food for medical purposes containing phosphates.”
Existing maximum permitted levels of these additives in food range from 500 to 20,000 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) of food depending on the food type.
EFSA’s scientific advice will inform risk managers in the European Commission and Member States who regulate the safe use of phosphates as food additives in the EU.

Phosphates in food supplements

Currently phosphates as additives in food supplements can be used at "quantum satis" (i.e. as much as technologically needed). EFSA’s experts found that for those above the age of 3 years who take such supplements regularly, estimated dietary exposure may exceed the ADI at levels associated with risks for kidney function.
EFSA: “Based on the exposure assessment, the panel recommends the introduction of numerical maximum permitted levels of phosphates used as additives in food supplements in place of quantum satis.”

https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/190612

More than €100 million worth of potentially dangerous food and drinks was seized in the latest Operation OPSON, coordinated by Europol’s Intellectual Property Crime Coordination Centre and INTERPOL. 672 individuals were arrested so far, with investigations ongoing in many countries.

Police, customs, national food regulatory authorities and private sector partners across 78 countries* took part in the five-month OPSON VIII operation which ran from December 2018 through April 2019.

In total, some 16 000 tonnes and 33 million litres of potentially dangerous fake food and drink was seized as a result of more than 67 000 checks carried out at shops, markets, airports, seaports and industrial estates.

Tampered expiry dates on cheese and chicken, controlled medicines added to drink products and meat stored in unsanitary conditions were some of the offenses discovered during the operation.

As in previous Opson operations, illicit alcohol was the most seized item, totaling over 33 000 metric tonnes, followed by cereals and grains (+/- 3 628 metric tonnes) and condiments (+/- 1 136 metric tonnes).

The first estimates of the global and regional burden of foodborne disease, published by WHO in December 2015, show that the burden is significant throughout the world. This report presents data for the WHO European Region. Every year, more than 23 million people fall ill from eating contaminated food, resulting in 5000 deaths and more than 400 000 disability-adjusted life years. The most frequent causes of foodborne disease are diarrhoeal disease agents, the most common being Norovirus followed by Campylobacter spp. Non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. are responsible for the majority of deaths. Non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. followed by Campylobacter spp. cause the highest burden; the parasitic disease toxoplasmosis, which can cause severe damage to unborn children and immunodeficient patients, represents the third highest burden of foodborne disease. These figures indicate the need for strengthened prevention, surveillance and management of foodborne disease in the European Region, including risk communication, awareness-raising and consumer education. Furthermore, the data can be used to guide food safety policymaking and decision-making, including prioritization, at national and regional levels. WHO is committed to working with its Member States and partners to strengthen prevention, detection and management of food safety risks, with the overall aim of lowering the burden of foodborne disease.

https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/402989/50607-WHO-Food-Safety-publicationV4_Web.pdf?ua=1 

Although the EU’s system for protecting consumers from chemical hazards in food is soundly based and respected worldwide, it is currently overstretched, according to a new report from the European Court of Auditors. The European Commission and the Member States do not have the capacity to implement the system fully, the auditors say.

EU food safety policy aims to guarantee a high level of protection for human life and health, and to protect EU citizens from three types of hazards in food: physical, biological and chemical. This audit concentrated on chemical hazards in food.

The auditors found that the EU food safety model commands respect worldwide, but that it is currently overstretched. The legal framework governing chemicals in food, feed, and plants and live animals remains a work in progress, they say, and has not yet been implemented to the level envisaged in EU laws governing food production. In addition, the European Food Safety Authority, which provides scientific advice to inform European policymaking, suffers backlogs in its work in connection with chemical hazards. This affects the proper functioning of parts of the system and the sustainability of the model as a whole.

“Food safety is a high priority for the EU; it affects all citizens and is closely linked to trade”, said Janusz Wojciechowski, the Member of the European Court of Auditors responsible for the report. “But the current EU system faces a number of inconsistencies and challenges.”

Some Member States’ controls cover certain chemicals more frequently than others, and their legal frameworks are so extensive that public authorities find it difficult to fulfil all their responsibilities. Checks by public bodies can only ever make up a small proportion of all checks carried out, say the auditors, and the EU model can best remain credible if public- and private-sector control systems complement each other. However, synergies between the two have only just started to be explored.

An outbreak of salmonella that has been linked to cucumber in ready-to-eat food has sickened nearly 150 people, hitting the United Kingdom by far the hardest.

Five countries have so far this year reported cases of the illness caused by the same strain of Salmonella enterica. The United Kingdom has had 88 per cent of cases with 129, followed by Finland with 15, then Germany, Denmark and Ireland with one case each.

The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have identified ready-to-eat meals containing cucumbers as a possible source, but warned as of July 26 it had not been possible to identify the point where contamination occurred. In a joint report the two European agencies said: At present, there is insufficient epidemiological information available on the consumption of contaminated products by humans to support the microbiological evidence provided by the isolation of the outbreak strain in food. “The epidemiological investigations in the other affected countries did not generate any strong hypothesis about the vehicle or source of infection.

“Although the cucumbers used in all final contaminated products originated from Spain for a limited period (from November 2017 to April 2018), no connection between supply chains was identified: primary producers of cucumbers were different (producers A and B), and cucumbers were delivered to different processing companies through different distributors in the United Kingdom. “The laboratory results for Salmonella in all cucumber samples, taken either at primary production level in Spain or during distribution to/within UK, were negative.” The outbreak includes 25 historical cases from 2014 until January 2017.

The lack of a clear contamination source led the agencies to conclude it is likely new victims will emerge in early 2019, as has happened in previous years.

The Commission published the results of the first coordinated official controls of Internet marketed foods carried out by 25 EU Member States, Switzerland and Norway. In September 2017 the competent national authorities checked nearly 1100 websites for offers of non-authorised novel foods and food supplements. They found 779 offers for the sale of products clearly not complying with the EU legislation, whether in terms of labelling, false claims or lack of authorisation.

This was the first time that the national authorities pooled their experience and resources, showing their preparedness to respond to the challenges of the online world and to protect the citizens from unsafe and misleading products offered online.

The main objectives of this first Coordinated Control Plan on the Internet sale of food ('CCP-efood') in the Union were:

• practice and strengthen the cooperation and administrative assistance between Member State authorities on the control of Internet sales;
• practice the exchange of information via rapid alert notifications according to Article 50 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 (RASFF) and notification under the Administrative Assistance and Cooperation system (AAC system) according to Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/19181,2;
• gain insight into misleading practices in the sale of food supplements;
• gain insight into the prevalence of unauthorised novel foods sold via Internet;
• highlight that Internet sales of food are subject to official controls;
• build know-how on food law enforcement in Internet sales by the authorities.