EFSA Ensures the Safety of Vitamin D2 Mushroom powder (Agaricus bisporus) as a Novel food

On April 08, 2021, the European Food Safety Authority published a safety assessment report on “Vitamin D2 mushroom powder as a novel food (NF) pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283”. The NF is an ingredient produced from Agaricus bisporus mushroom powder that has been exposed to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation to induce the conversion of provitamin D2 (ergosterol) to vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol).

The document highlights the safety of the NF in target group of infants and young children. Key-points are summarized as follows:

• Target population is the general population except for food supplements and Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMPs) of which target populations is individuals above 1 year of age.
• Vitamin D provided by vitamin D2 concentration ranges of 580–595 μg/g; Fat ≤ 4.5; Heavy metals such as Lead and Cadmium must be < 0.5mg/kg and Arsenic < 0.3mg/kg
• Manufacturing process, composition and specifications of the NF does not raise safety concerns, detailed report is available.
• Proposal on the application of NF in a variety of foods and beverages, including food for special medical purposes and food supplements.

To conclude, the use of NF as an ingredient is safe for the general population at the proposed condition of use in foods and beverages and when used as a food supplement, it is safe for individuals above 1 year.

To view the complete safety assessment report, check out the Food News Monitoring System.