Scientific Opinion on the Tolerable Upper Intake Level for Selenium

    January 2023 in “ EFSA journal ”
    Dominique Turck, Torsten Bohn, Jacqueline Castenmiller, Stefaan De Henauw, Karen‐Ildico Hirsch‐Ernst, Helle Katrine Knutsen, Alexandre Maciuk, Inge Mangelsdorf, Harry J McArdle, Carmen Peláez, Kristina Pentieva, Alfonso Siani, Frank Thiès, Sophia Tsabouri, Marco Vinceti, P Aggett, Marta Crous Bou, Francesco Cubadda, Laura Ciccolallo, Agnès de Sesmaisons Lecarré, Lucia Fabiani, Ariane Titz, Androniki Naska
    TLDR Adults should not consume more than 255 micrograms of selenium per day to avoid risk of hair loss and other side effects.
    The EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) has established a tolerable upper intake level (UL) for selenium at 255 μg/day for adults, based on a LOAEL of 330 μg/day from the SELECT trial with an uncertainty factor of 1.3. For children, ULs were determined using allometric scaling. While dietary selenium intake in Europe is generally safe, caution is advised with selenium supplements, especially for toddlers and children, due to the risk of adverse effects like alopecia. The document also highlights the need for more research on selenium, focusing on risk biomarkers, the impact of excessive intake, and its association with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). It stresses the importance of understanding how factors like age, sex, and genetics influence selenium toxicity and obtaining accurate data on selenium intake from fortified foods and supplements in EU populations.
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