Artificial color levels in food products marketed in the State of Kuwait and assessment of intake levels by 4-10 year old children

يهدف المشروع الى تحديد والتعرف على المواد الغذائية المحتوية على ألوان صناعية والتي يستهلكها الأطفال البالغون من العمر 4-10 سنوات، باعتبار هذه الفئة هي الأكثر تعرضا لاستهلاك المواد الملونة في الحلويات والمأكولات. وسيتم تحديد نوعية الألوان المعينة المستخدمة في هذه الأطعمة، معدلات تركيزها ودراسة معدلات استهلاك الملونات الصناعية للأطعمة بين الأطفال. كما سيتم مقارنة البيانات المأخوذة مع معدل الاستهلاك اليومي المسموح به لكل لون وذلك حسب تقديرات منظمة الصحة العالمية ومنظمة الأغذية والزراعة.

In the State of Kuwait, as well as other GCC countries, the consumption of foods containing colorants seems to have increased tremendously during the last decade, as indicated by the larger amounts of shelf space that these food products occupy in co-operatives and supermarkets. Data on the levels (quantities) of these colors in foods, especially in the foods targeted for children, must be determined because in view of the food intakes unique to Kuwait diets, these could result in colorant intakes above the allowable levels. The Ministry of Public Health has been receiving a great number of inquiries from people concerned about colors and their potential effects on the health of their children, a subject that has also been publicly raised in many instances in the local newspapers, both in Kuwait and other GCC countries. This collaborative (KISR and MOH) project proposal was prepared upon the request from the Ministry of Health (Administration of Nutrition and Food Catering) in order to identify the foods containing artificial colors that are consumed by children 4-10 years of age (considered to be most vulnerable), identify the specific colorants in these foods, determine their concentrations and study the levels of intake of food colors by these children. The data will be compared to the Acceptable Daily Intake ‘ADI’ levels for each food color, as set by FAO/WHO.