Twenty-six week toxicity study with KASAL® (basic sodium aluminum phosphate) in beagle dogs

Abstract

Sodium aluminum phosphate in its basic form (KASAL) is a white odorless powder comprised of an autogenous mixture of alkaline sodium aluminum phosphate and dibasic sodium phosphate. KASAL is used primarily as an emulsifier in the production of processed cheese. This food additive constitutes a significant source of dietary aluminum in the USA (Pennington, 1987). Recent studies implicated parenteral administration of aluminum to a variety of maladies including osteomalacia and dialysis dementia (Ellis et al., 1979; Goodman, 1986; Will and Savory, 1985). However, relatively few long-term studies in laboratory animals have been reported. Because sodium aluminum phosphate formulations are potentially important sources of aluminum exposure it was important to study their toxicity and contribution to aluminum deposition in potentially important biological tissues (i.e., bone and brain). In the present study, Beagle dogs were fed diets containing up to 30,000 p.p.m. KASAL for 26 weeks. Mild toxicity was observed in high-dose males. No toxicologically significant increase of tissue aluminum concentrations were observed in KASAL treated dogs.