studied by a number of authors and experiments have shown that the presence of canthaxanthin can potentially help to reduce oxidation in a number of tissues including broiler meat and the chick embryo. In the egg, canthaxanthin is transferred from yolk to the developing embryo where it might help to protect the developing bird against oxidative damage, particularly during the sensitive periods of hatching and early posthatch life. Effects on human pigmentation and health When ingested for the purpose of simulating a tan, its deposition in the panniculus imparts a golden orange hue to the skin. In the late 1980s, the safety of canthaxanthin as a feed and a food additive was drawn into question as a result of a completely un-related use of the same carotenoid. A reversible deposition of canthaxanthin crystals was discovered in the retina of a limited number of people who had consumed very high amounts of canthaxanthin via sun-tanning pills – after stopping the pills, the deposits disappeared and the health of those people affected was fully recovered. However, the level of canthaxanthin intake in the affected individuals was many times greater than that which could ever be consumed via poultry products - to reach a similar intake, an individual would have to consume more than 50 eggs per day, produced by hens fed practical levels of canthaxanthin in their diets. Moreover, it was demonstrated by Hueber et al. that ingestions of canthaxanthin cause no long-term adverse effects, and that the phenomenon of crystal deposition on the retina is reversible and does not result in morphological changes. Although this incidence was totally unrelated and very different from the feed or food use of canthaxanthin, as a link had been drawn between canthaxanthin and human health, it was important that the use of canthaxanthin as a feed and food additive should be reviewed in detail by the relevant authorities, both in the EU and at an international level. The first stage of this review process was completed in 1995 with the publication by Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for canthaxanthin of 0.03 mg/kg bodyweight. The work of JECFA was subsequently reviewed and accepted within the EU by the SCF (EU Scientific Committee for Food) in 1997. The conclusion of both these committees was that canthaxanthin is safe for humans. Recently (2010), the EFSA Panel on Food Additives