Dietary glycation compounds - implications for human health.

The term "glycation compounds" comprises a wide range of structurally diverse compounds that are formed endogenously and in food the Maillard reaction, a chemical reaction between reducing sugars and amino acids. Glycation compounds produced endogenously are considered to contribute to a range of diseases. This has led to the hypothesis that glycation compounds present in food may also cause adverse effects and thus pose a nutritional risk to human health.

Controversy on health-based guidance values for bisphenol A-the need of criteria for studies that serve as a basis for risk assessment.

Since 2006, the responsible regulatory bodies have proposed five health-based guidance values (HBGV) for bisphenol A (BPA) that differ by a factor of 250,000. This range of HBGVs covers a considerable part of the range from highly toxic to relatively non-toxic substances. As such heterogeneity of regulatory opinions is a challenge not only for scientific risk assessment but also for all stakeholders, the Senate Commission on Food Safety (SKLM) of the German Research Foundation (DFG) analyzed the reasons for the current discrepancy and used this example to suggest improvements for the process of HBGV recommendations.

Validation of putative biomarkers of furan exposure through quantitative analysis of furan metabolites in urine of F344 rats exposed to stable isotope labeled furan.

Humans are chronically exposed to furan, a potent liver toxicant and carcinogen that occurs in a variety of heat-processed foods. Assessment of human exposure based on the furan content in foods is, however, subject to some uncertainty due to the high volatility of furan. Biomarker monitoring is thus considered an alternative or complementary approach to furan exposure assessment.

Commentary of the SKLM to the EFSA opinion on risk assessment of N-nitrosamines in food.

Dietary exposure to N-nitrosamines has recently been assessed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to result in margins of exposure that are conceived to indicate concern with respect to human health risk. However, evidence from more than half a century of international research shows that N-nitroso compounds (NOC) can also be formed endogenously. In this commentary of the Senate Commission on Food Safety (SKLM) of the German Research Foundation (DFG), the complex metabolic and physiological biokinetics network of nitrate, nitrite and reactive nitrogen species is discussed with emphasis on its influence on endogenous NOC formation.