Submit comments before 4 March

EFSA wants feedback on how to calculate maximum levels for sugar

By Niamh Michail

- Last updated on GMT

© iStock
© iStock
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) wants feedback on the method it plans to use to calculate the maximum amount of sugar that can be included in a healthy diet.

The Authority received a mandate to publish a scientific opinion that establishes “a science-based cut-off value for daily exposure to added sugars from all sources which is not associated with adverse health effects​”.

Added sugars include sucrose, fructose, glucose, starch hydrolysates such as glucose syrup, high-fructose syrup, and other sugar preparations consumed as such or added during food preparation and manufacturing, it said.

Its Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) has drafted a protocol to define the methods for identifying and collecting data; appraising the relevant evidence; and analysing and integrating the evidence to draw conclusions that will form the basis of the scientific opinion.

Chair of the panel Dominique Turck said he was looking forward to receiving comments and suggestions from across the scientific community.

 “This is an important and complex piece of work, which is why we want to give our stakeholders and members of the public the opportunity to comment on our approach before we start the assessment.”

The comments would help EFSA optimise both the transparency and the methodological rigour of this assessment, he added.

Interested parties have until 4 March 2018 to submit comments​.

EFSA is also holding a free, English-language technical meeting in Brussels on 13 February 2018 to discuss the methodology used during the scientific assessment. If you would like to register, click here.

The mandate for an opinion came at the behest of the five Nordic countries last year, represented by the food agencies of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland.

EFSA’s final scientific opinion is expected in February 2020. 

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