Food colors, natural or synthetic, are extensively used to enhance and preserve the aesthetic properties of food commodities. However, in the absence of a worldwide list of permitted coloring agents, legislation of these additives varies greatly among countries. In effect, food color legislation becomes an international concern as a possible barrier to trade.

The list of permissible food additives in the Philippines are stipulated in the FDA Bureau Circular No. 2006-016 and Administrative Order No. 88-A s. 1984, which both adopt the provisions of the latest Codex Alimentarius General Standard for Food Additives (Codex GSFA). Aluminum lake colors (ALCs), a special group of color additives with widespread applications in snacks and confectionery products nowadays, are not listed in the GSFA and consequently, in the said FDA issuances.

The use of ALCs are considered safe by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) as long as the exposure level of the consuming populations are within the established Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) of 2 mg/kg body weight for aluminum. While other countries have allowed the use of ALCs in their food products, the Philippine Food Safety Act of 2013 will only allow adoption of standards other than Codex only when a complete risk assessment of aluminum from ALCs specific to the Filipino population will be established. Integral to this activity is the access to exposure levels of Filipino consumers to aluminum with ALC-containing foods as dietary sources.

In light of the increasing number of affected industries as the FDA awaits the formal inclusion of ALCs in the Codex GSFA, this initiative will perform a dietary exposure assessment study of Filipinos to aluminum from ALCs in food using a screening-level approach. Results of this study will fill the data gap necessary to initiate risk assessment activities for aluminum in the country; thereby providing a scientific basis for the FDA to authorize the use of ALCs in the Philippines. Availability of national exposure data on aluminum can further be utilized as evidence for revisions of applicable regulations relevant to ALCs.