Safety assurance margins for food additives currently in use

Toxicity data for a subset of food additives are combined (by means of a "Monte Carlo" computer analysis) with exposure information to indicate the characteristics of an overall profile of "safety assurance margins" for additives currently in use in the United States. It is demonstrated that safety concerns for (noncarcinogenic) toxic effects for these substances can seldom be expected a priori if they disappear into the U.S. food supply at levels of less than about 100,000 pounds annually.