Genotoxicity assessment of food-flavoring chemicals used in Japan.

We assessed the genotoxicity of 30 food-flavoring chemicals used in Japan that have not been investigated before. These 30 food-flavoring chemicals have representative chemical structures belonging to 18 chemical classes. The Ames and chromosomal aberration (CA) tests ( tests) were first conducted in accordance with the "Food Additive Risk Assessment Guidelines" of the Japan Food Safety Commission. If the test yielded a positive result, an micronucleus test or a transgenic mouse gene mutation assay was performed to verify the test results. Of the 30 food-flavoring chemicals, 3 yielded a positive result in both Ames and CA tests. Another 11 chemicals yielded positive results in the CA test. However, none of the chemicals yielding positive test results yielded positive results in the tests. These findings indicate no genotoxicity concerns of the food-flavoring chemicals belonging to the abovementioned 18 chemical classes used in Japan unless there are other structural modifications.