Finding phosphorus containing additives in manufactured foods

Dietary phosphorous (P) intake is associated with an increased serum phosphate level which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and increased mortality for people with chronic kidney disease. Dietary restriction of P is an important nutrition intervention as about 50% of daily intake of P is from P–containing food additives. Educating patients on P additives can effectively reduce serum P values over standard care. Avoidance can be achieved by reading the ingredient list to check for over 20 P additives either by name or a number which is burdensome and confusing. The purpose of this study was to search an existing NZ Manufactured Foods Database (5126 manufactured foods available in NZ) to obtain: 1. Listings of foods free from P additives; 2. Identification of food groups more likely to contain P additives; 3. Commonly used P additives There were 1,920 foods (37%) that contained at least 1 P additive. The most commonly used P additives were 450, 451, 322 and 1442. Food Group % Foods with at least one additive Most common additive used Meat and Poultry Products 76 450, 451 Fish and Seafood Products 39 450, 451 Yoghurt 59 1142, 341 Vegetable Products 25 450, 1414, 322 Snack Foods 68 322, 1442 Biscuits 61 322, 450 Cakes, Buns, Pastries 86 450, 541, 1442 Breakfast Cereals 32 322, 101 This reflects manufactured foods in NZ and it is likely that these results could be generalized to countries with similar food patterns and supplies. Quantitative data in manufactured foods is unlikely to be available to guide patient choice so qualitative information of where to find P additives can be helpful.