Re‐evaluation of phosphoric acid–phosphates – di‐, tri‐ and polyphosphates (E 338–341, E 343, E 450–452) as food additives and the safety of proposed extension of use

The Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings added to Food (FAF) provided a scientific opinion re‐evaluating the safety of phosphates (E 338–341, E 343, E 450–452) as food additives. The Panel considered that adequate exposure and toxicity data were available. Phosphates are authorised food additives in the EU in accordance with Annex II and III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008. Exposure to phosphates from the whole diet was estimated using mainly analytical data. The values ranged from 251 mg P/person per day in infants to 1,625 mg P/person per day for adults, and the high exposure (95th percentile) from 331 mg P/person per day in infants to 2,728 mg P/person per day for adults. Phosphate is essential for all living organisms, is absorbed at 80–90% as free orthophosphate excreted via the kidney. The Panel considered phosphates to be of low acute oral toxicity and there is no concern with respect to genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. No effects were reported in developmental toxicity studies. The Panel derived a group acceptable daily intake (ADI) for phosphates expressed as phosphorus of 40 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day and concluded that this ADI is protective for the human population. The Panel noted that in the estimated exposure scenario based on analytical data exposure estimates exceeded the proposed ADI for infants, toddlers and other children at the mean level, and for infants, toddlers, children and adolescents at the 95th percentile. The Panel also noted that phosphates exposure by food supplements exceeds the proposed ADI. The Panel concluded that the available data did not give rise to safety concerns in infants below 16 weeks of age consuming formula and food for medical purposes

Nanoscale hot electron transport across Cu/n-Si(100) and Cu/n-Si(111) interfaces

Ballistic electron emission microscopy (BEEM) has been used to investigate hot electron transmission, at the nanoscale, in thin films of Cu on Si(100) and Si(111). For all Cu thicknesses studied here, the BEEM transmission is observed to be twice larger for Si(111) than for Si(100). Further, the attenuation length in Cu is found to be larger for Si(111) than for Si(100) substrates, in spite of the highly textured growth of Cu on both the substrates. Our results can be explained by the incorporation of elastic scattering at the metal-semiconductor (M/S) interface as well as the increased availability of parallel momentum states at the interface. (C) 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei

Cold storage effects on flesh quality of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

The intention of this experiment was to assess the effects of different sources of dietary lipid on the fatty acid composition of the fillet and liver and the flesh quality traits of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) after a 70-day feeding period. Four iso-nitrogenous (approx. 51% crude protein) and iso-lipidic (approx. 14% crude lipid) experimental diets were formulated. The control diet contained only fish oil (FO) as the primary lipid source. In the other three dietary treatments, fish oil was replaced by 100% (LO30/SO35/SFO35) and 70% (FO30/LO35/SO35 or FO30/SO35/SFO35) sesame oil (SO), linseed oil (LO), or sunflower oil (SFO). Triplicate groups of 40 rainbow trout (similar to 46 g) held under similar culture conditions were hand-fed daily to apparent satiation for 70 days. At the end of the feeding trials, no difference in growth performance among experimental groups was noted (P > 0.05). There were some differences in the proximate composition of fish fillets (P < 0.05): the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels were highest in fish fed the control diet (P < 0.05); and EPA and DHA levels in fish fed the FO30/LO35/SO35 diet were closest to the control diet (P < 0.05). In contrast, fish fed the diet containing 100% plant oils (LO30/SO35/SFO35) had the highest level of total n-6 fatty acids in the fillet and liver. In a 12-day refrigerated storage at 1 degrees C the thiobarbituric acid (TBA), trimethylamin nitrogen (TMA-N) and pH values gradually increased in all dietary groups (P < 0.05). The chemical indicators of spoilage, TBA, TMA-N, and pH values were within the limit of acceptability for human consumption