Summary

Following a request from the European Commission to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Scientific Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS) was asked to provide a scientific opinion on the safety of L-selenomethionine as a source of selenium in food supplements and on the bioavailability of selenium from this source. The safety of selenium itself, in terms of the amounts that may be consumed, is outside the remit of this Panel. L-selenomethionine is a selenoamino acid in which selenium replaces the sulphur of the methionine molecule. It is a natural component of the diet and has been estimated to account for at least half of all dietary selenium. Like other forms of selenium salts and organoselenium compounds, L-selenomethionine is readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. In a number of studies in humans and animals, in particular those having selenium-deficient diets, the bioavailability of selenium from L-selenomethionine has been shown to be approximately 1.5 to 2-fold higher than that of inorganic forms of selenium....