Dietary exposure to benzoates (E210–E213), parabens (E214–E219), nitrites (E249–E250), nitrates (E251–E252), BHA (E320), BHT (E321) and aspartame (E951) in children less than 3 years old in France

This study aimed to estimate the exposure to seven additives (benzoates, parabens, nitrites, nitrates, BHA, BHT and aspartame) in children aged less than 3 years old in France. A conservative approach, combining individual consumption data with maximum permitted levels, was carried out for all the additives. More refined estimates using occurrence data obtained from products’ labels (collected by the French Observatory of Food Quality) were conducted for those additives that exceeded the acceptable daily intake (ADI). Information on additives’ occurrence was obtained from the food labels. When the ADI was still exceeded, the exposure estimate was further refined using measured concentration data, if available. When using the maximum permitted level (MPL), the ADI was exceeded for benzoates (1.94 mg kg–1 bw day–1), nitrites (0.09 mg kg–1 bw day–1) and BHA (0.39 mg kg–1 bw day–1) in 25%, 54% and 20% of the entire study population respectively. The main food contributors identified with this approach were cu...