Tue, Jan 10, 2017 page4

• FDA to allow more phosphates in food resitrictions

  TRADE-OFF: Raising the amount of the substance allowed in processed foods might bring trade benefits, but the health implications are not well understood, a doctor said

  • By Wu Liang-yi and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  Some doctors have expressed concern over a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plan to ease the restrictions on the amount of phosphate allowed in food that is to take effect after the Lunar New Year holidays.

  This year’s Lunar New Year holiday runs from Jan. 27 through Feb. 1.

  Increased phosphate content in food severely affects the kidneys, and could affect the health of people with kidney disease, doctors said.

  Phosphates are commonly added to food to bind water to protein, prevent agglomeration of food powders and as emulsifiers, thickening agents and leavening agents in baked goods.

  Current regulations limit phosphate content to 3g per kilogram of food product, but the proposed changes would increase the limit to 44g per kilogram in products such as chewing gum, and allow phosphate content in bread and cookies of 9.3g per kilogram of product.

  While phosphate is important for healthy teeth and bones, as well as for metabolic balance, the daily intake of phosphate for an average adult should not exceed 1g, the doctors said.

  Food-phosphate level regulations represent the second wave of changes to food standards, and further changes would take public concerns into account, FDA official Kao Yi-ting (高怡婷) said.

  The FDA bases its regulations on recommendations from the international Codex Alimentarius Commission, Kao said, adding that it aims to be in line with international standards.

  Most people are not even aware that they should be conscious of their phosphate intake, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital nephrologist Yen Tzung-hai (顏宗海) said, adding that it is not uncommon for people to exceed the recommended daily limit in just one meal.

  People with kidney disease who consume too much phosphate risk an electrolyte disturbance known as hyperphosphatemia, Yen said, adding that this can develop into hyperactivity in the thyroid gland or pathological changes in the kidneys.

  The average person absorbs 10 to 30 percent of the organic phosphate which occurs naturally in whole foods, but 100 percent of the non-organic phosphates added to processed foods, Yen said.

  A healthy kidney can metabolize phosphate, but people with kidney disease must be wary of their phosphate consumption, National Taiwan University Hospital nephrologist Chiang Chih-kang (姜志剛) said.

  Under the proposed changes, packaged bread could contain three times as much phosphate as current regulations allow, Chiang said.

  “The proposed changes would put the FDA in line with international standards, helping to facilitate trade, but the effects of phosphate on the body are not well known in Taiwan,” Chiang said, adding that any easing of restrictions should be followed up with a public education scheme.

  In 2014, ministry data showed that 3,219 out of every 1 million Taiwanese underwent kidney dialysis, the highest proportion of any nation worldwide.

  “Being in line with international standards is a good thing, but we must also look at local health statistics to see what regulations are suitable for us,” Yen said.
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