E338 — Phosphoric acid
E338 (Phosphoric acid), a acidity regulator, is rated "avoid": worth avoiding. The main acid in cola drinks, and an added phosphate. EFSA's 2019 review found that phosphate intake already exceeds the safe daily limit for many children and teenagers, and that the limit does not protect people with reduced kidney function.
What is Phosphoric acid?
A mineral acid that gives cola its bite. Also used in some hard candies, dairy products, and processed meats.
What does it do to the body?
Added phosphates absorb far more efficiently than the phosphate naturally bound in food, so they push up your total phosphate load. At typical intake a healthy adult handles this; at heavy daily intake, and in people with reduced kidney function, high phosphate intake is linked to kidney strain and to hardening of blood vessels. Heavy cola drinking has also been linked to lower bone mineral density, and the acidity wears tooth enamel.
What regulators say
EFSA set a group acceptable daily intake of 40 mg of phosphorus per kg of body weight per day in 2019 and found that estimated intake exceeds it for infants, toddlers and children at average consumption, and for adolescents on a phosphate-rich diet. EFSA also states the limit does not cover people with moderate to severe reduced kidney function. It stays permitted in the EU, and the FDA treats it as GRAS.
Risk rating: Avoid
Known or suspected to cause harm: a substance EFSA or another regulator has flagged, or one restricted in some jurisdictions. Best kept out of a regular diet.
Source: EFSA — re-evaluation of phosphoric acid and phosphates, E 338–341, E 343, E 450–452 (2019) ↗