Toxicological evaluation of peroxy sulfonated oleic acid (PSOA) in subacute and developmental toxicity studies

Peroxy sulfonated oleic acid (PSOA) is a new coupler used in sanitizing solutions primarily for the food and beverage industry. The toxicity of PSOA was evaluated in a 28-day repeat dose study according to OECD 407 guidelines with a 14-day recovery period and a developmental toxicity study according to OECD 414 guidelines. In both studies, PSOA was administered once daily via gavage at 0, 5, 15 and 50 mg/kg/day to Sprague–Dawley rats. Due to its corrosive properties, the highest test concentration was restricted to 0.5%. No findings related to PSOA administration were observed for the 28-day repeat-dose study and the NOEL is 50 mg/kg/day. Additionally, no impairment of the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract was observed up to 0.5%, which is considered the NOEC in terms of local toxicity. For the developmental study, an embryo-fetal NOEL of 50 mg/kg/day was identified and the maternal NOEL is considered to be 15 mg/kg/day, based on slight reductions in maternal body weight and food consumption, as well as a modest increase in the incidence of clinical observations at the high dose. These findings demonstrate that PSOA appears to have minimal potential to induce toxicity associated with repeat-dose or developmental exposures.