Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food on a request from the Commission related to the use of L-cysteine in foods intended for infants and young children Question no EFSA Q-2005-083 Adopted on 26 September 2006

The Scientific Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food has been asked to evaluate the use of L-cysteine as a food additive in certain foodstuffs intended for infants and young children. L-cysteine is a non-essential amino acid occurring in a wide variety of foods, in particular cereals. The EC Scientific Committee for Food (SCF) has previously evaluated the safety of L-cysteine and considered that its use as a food additive in the treatment of flour is toxicologically acceptable. It is not however included in the list of food additives permitted in foods for infants and young children, although it is listed in European Community legislation as a substance that may be used for nutritional purposes in processed cereal-based foods and foods for infants and young children and in infant formulae and follow-on formulae. Application has been made for use of L-cysteine and its hydrochloride as flour treatment agent in biscuits for infants and young children, at a level of 1 g/kg. Biscuits for infants and young children are required to have a suitable composition, including a controlled content of sugar and fat. However biscuit recipes with a low fat content have increased brittleness, with an associated risk of choking and/or suffocation due to breakage of the biscuit in the child's mouth. The function of L-cysteine in the intended application is to act as a dough improver to control the texture of the final product. The estimated intake of L-cysteine by infants aged 3 - 12 months as a result of the consumption of 1-3 biscuits potentially containing the amino acid is considered to be very low in comparison with the intake provided by the remainder of the child's diet. The intake of 6 mg L-cysteine from one baby biscuit baked from dough containing the amino acid represents 2 % of the estimated total intake of 296 mg cysteine per day from a typical varied infant diet. Two biscuits per day will, proportionately, represent 4% of the total intake, while three biscuits will represent 6%. The Panel concludes that the use of L-cysteine in processed cereal-based foods and foods (specifically baby biscuits) for infants and young children for technological purposes is of no safety concern. The Panel considers that the proposed use of L-cysteine to improve the texture of biscuits for infants and young children is not incompatible with previous advice of the SCF, that the addition of amino acids to foods intended for infants and young children should only be permitted for the purpose of improving the nutritional value of the foodstuff, given its intended application in achieving a product of suitable nutritional composition including a controlled content of sugar and fat.