FAO Nutrition Meetings
Report Series No. 40A,B,C
WHO/Food Add./67.29
TOXICOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF SOME
ANTIMICROBIALS, ANTIOXIDANTS, EMULSIFIERS,
STABILIZERS, FLOUR-TREATMENT AGENTS, ACIDS AND BASES
The content of this document is the result of the deliberations of the
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives which met at Rome,
13-20 December, 19651 Geneva, 11-18 October, 19662
1 Ninth Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food
Additives, FAO Nutrition Meetings Report Series, 1966 No. 40;
Wld Hlth Org. techn. Rep. Ser., 1966, 339
2 Tenth Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food
Additives, FAO Nutrition Meetings Report Series, 1967, in press;
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
World Health Organization
1967
MIXED TARTARIC ACID AND ACETIC ACID AND FATTY ACID ESTERS OF GLYCEROL
TARTARIC ACID AND FATTY ACID ESTERS OF GLYCEROL
Synonyms Tartrated mono- and diglycerides;
Tartaric acid esters of mono- and
diglycerides
Definition Tartaric acid and fatty acid esters of
glycerol are formed by esterifying the
hydroxyl groups of fatty acid esters of
glycerol with tartaric acid.
Uses As emulsifier
ACETIC ACID AND FATTY ACID ESTERS OF GLYCEROL
Biological Data
Biochemical aspects
In an aqueous medium the substance is spontaneously hydrolysed
into free tartaric acid and glycerol esters of acetic and fatty acids
(Kieckebusch et al., 1967).
Acute toxicity
Animal Route LD50 References
mg/kg
body-weight)
Mouse oral 20 000 Kieckebusch et al., 1967
The figure given is for a commercial product, consisting of 16
per cent. of the ester, 44 per cent. fat, 20 per cent. glucose and 20
per cent. sucrose.
Short-term studies
No data are available.
Long-term studies
Rat. Fifteen male and 15 female rats were fed the ester at a
level of 0.8 per cent. for 24 months. No significant difference was
found between the test animals and controls regarding body-weight,
food consumption, reproduction, external appearance and mortality
rate. The histological examination of the main organs showed no
differences attributable to the substance administered (Mosinger,
1965).
Groups of 20 male and 20 female rats were fed the 16 per cent.
ester product at dose levels of 0, 100 and 400 mg/kg body-weight/day
for 28 months. No significant differences were found between the
groups regarding body-weight, food consumption, food efficiency,
reproduction, external appearance and mortality rate. The histological
examination of the main organs showed no differences attributable to
the test substance (Kieckebusch et al., 1967).
Comments
The experimental studies showed no evidence of any toxic effects
from administration of these esters. Furthermore, this additive is
hydrolysed either in the food or in the intestinal tract to normal
dietary constituents. Evaluation is based on the content of tartaric
acid (FAO/WHO, 1965a; 1965b).
Evaluation
Estimate of acceptable daily intake for man
mg/kg body-weight*
Unconditional acceptance 0-100
DL-Lactic acid
Conditional acceptance 0-1001
Tartaric acid
Unconditional acceptance 0-62
Conditional acceptance 6-202
REFERENCES
FAO/WHO (1965a) FAO Nutrition Meetings Report Series No. 38;
Wld Hlth Org. techn. Rep. Ser., 309, p.25
FAO/WHO (1965b) FAO Nutrition meetings Report Series No. 38A;
WHO/Food Add./24.65
Kieckebusch, W., Griem, W., Czok, G. & Lang, K. (1967) In press
Mosinger, M. (1965) Unpublished report
* As sum of total glycerol esters of fatty acids and acetic, citric,
lactic and tartaric acids, provided that the total food additive
intake of the following acids does not exceed, for
1 Refers to content of D(-)-Lactic acid.
2 Does not include the amounts occurring naturally.
See Also:
Toxicological Abbreviations