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15 July 2020 - Günther Sidl – [P-004203/2020] - Subject: Amendment to Annex III of Regulation (EC) No. 1925/2006
Aloe Barbadensis Miller (Aloe Vera) has a
long history as a herbal remedy, and there are numerous references in the
literature documenting its use for over 3 500 years. In connection with food
and food supplements, I support the precautionary approach that any risks to
human health must be fully taken into account when assessing safety.
Hydroxyanthracene derivatives (HAD) are found not only in Aloe Vera products,
but also in normal vegetables such as beans, coleslaw or peas.
It is not clear from the proposed
amendment whether Aloe Vera products are to be banned in principle or only
those products that are obtained from the unpeeled leaves of Aloe Arborescens
and contain Anthranoids classified as harmful to health.
1. Does the proposed change ensure that
preparations and products made from Anthranoid-free gel or the inner pulp of
the leaves of some types of Aloe (mostly Aloe Barbadensis or Aloe Vera) can
continue to be used in foods, as food additives and in cosmetics?
2. Some impurities are technically
unavoidable and manufacturers can demonstrate that everything has been done to
avoid them. Have any limit values been set for such impurities which may not
be exceeded?
Answer given by Ms Kyriakides on behalf of
the European Commission (13 August 2020):
«The European Food Safety Authority
concluded in its scientific opinion[1]
that certain hydroxyanthracene derivatives (HAD), namely aloe-emodin, emodin
and danthron, and plant preparations containing them, are genotoxic and cause
cancer in the intestine. In line with this safety assessment, the Commission
proposes to prohibit the use of these harmful substances in foods including
food supplements, and the scope of this prohibition is not intended to cover
their use for technological purposes as food additives, or in cosmetic
products.
The Commission is aware that it is
possible during manufacturing to remove HAD from the botanical extracts, but
that impurities of these substances may be present. In this context, the
Commission has asked the EU Reference Laboratory on mycotoxins and plant toxins
for assistance in establishing a validated analytical method and its limit of
quantification for HADs in botanical preparations of Aloe species.».
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