Advancing human health risk assessment.

The current/traditional human health risk assessment paradigm is challenged by recent scientific and technical advances, and ethical demands. The current approach is considered too resource intensive, is not always reliable, can raise issues of reproducibility, is mostly animal based and does not necessarily provide an understanding of the underlying mechanisms of toxicity. From an ethical and scientific viewpoint, a paradigm shift is required to deliver testing strategies that enable reliable, animal-free hazard and risk assessments, which are based on a mechanistic understanding of chemical toxicity and make use of exposure science and epidemiological data.

Harmonized methodology to assess chronic dietary exposure to residues from compounds used as pesticide and veterinary drug.

Risk assessments for pesticide and veterinary drug residues in food are performed respectively by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). The models used by the two Committees to assess chronic dietary exposure are based on different data and assumptions which may be confusing, particularly for risk managers, when the same compound is used to treat plants and animals. This publication details the results of combined chronic dietary exposure assessments for eight compounds used both as pesticide and veterinary drugs.

Mycotoxin contamination of sorghum and its contribution to human dietary exposure in four sub-Saharan countries.

This research aimed at evaluating the safety, and the type, level and prevalence of mycotoxins in grain sorghum of four sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali and Sudan). A multi-analyte LC-MS/MS method for quantification of 23 mycotoxins (nivalenol, deoxynivalenol, fusarenon X, neosolaniol, 3-acetyl deoxynivalenol, 15-acetyl deoxynivalenol, diacetoxyscirpenol, roquefortine C, HT-2 toxin, alternariol, T-2 toxin, FB1, FB2, FB3, zearalenone, aflatoxin G, aflatoxin G, aflatoxin B, aflatoxin B, sterigmatocystin, OTA, altenuene, alternariol monomethylether) was applied to different sorghum matrices. Of the 1533 analysed samples, 33% were contaminated with at least one of the following mycotoxins: aflatoxins, fumonisins, sterigmatocystin, Alternaria toxins, OTA and zearalenone.

Characterizing chronic and acute health risks of residues of veterinary drugs in food: latest methodological developments by the joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives.

The risk assessment of residues of veterinary drugs in food is a field that continues to evolve. The toxicological end-points to be considered are becoming more nuanced and in light of growing concern about the development of antimicrobial resistance, detailed analysis of the antimicrobial activity of the residues of veterinary drugs in food is increasingly incorporated in the assessment. In recent years, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) has refined its approaches to provide a more comprehensive and fit-for-purpose risk assessment.

Guidance on the risk assessment of substances present in food intended for infants below 16 weeks of age.

Following a request from the European Commission to EFSA, the EFSA Scientific Committee (SC) prepared a guidance for the risk assessment of substances present in food intended for infants below 16 weeks of age. In its approach to develop this guidance, the EFSA SC took into account, among others, (i) an exposure assessment based on infant formula as the only source of nutrition; (ii) knowledge of organ development in human infants, including the development of the gut, metabolic and excretory capacities, the brain and brain barriers, the immune system, the endocrine and reproductive systems; (iii) the overall toxicological profile of the substance identified through the standard toxicological tests, including critical effects; (iv) the relevance for the human infant of the neonatal experimental animal models used. The EFSA SC notes that during the period from birth up to 16 weeks, infants are expected to be exclusively fed on breast milk and/or infant formula.

WHO/UNEP global surveys of PCDDs, PCDFs, PCBs and DDTs in human milk and benefit-risk evaluation of breastfeeding.

Since 1987, the World Health Organization (WHO) carried out global surveys on polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in human milk. This study presents a review of the three most recent surveys from 2000 to 2010, including DDT. The objective was to identify global quantitative differences and provide baseline information for 52 countries or provide time-trends for countries with previous data.

Polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and biphenyls: inclusion in the toxicity equivalency factor concept for dioxin-like compounds.

In 2011, a joint World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) expert consultation took place, during which the possible inclusion of brominated analogues of the dioxin-like compounds in the WHO Toxicity Equivalency Factor (TEF) scheme was evaluated. The expert panel concluded that polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PBDDs), dibenzofurans (PBDFs), and some dioxin-like biphenyls (dl-PBBs) may contribute significantly in daily human background exposure to the total dioxin toxic equivalencies (TEQs). These compounds are also commonly found in the aquatic environment.

Dioxins (polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo-furans) in traditional clay products used during pregnancy.

Geophagy, the practice of consuming clay or soil, is encountered among pregnant women in Africa, Eastern Asia and Latin America, but also in Western societies. However, certain types of clay are known to contain high concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). The aim of this study was to determine the PCDD/F contents of orally consumed clays purchased from Dutch and African markets.

WHO's public health agenda in response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has responded to the 2011 East-Japan earthquake and tsunami through the three levels of its decentralised structure. It has provided public health advice regarding a number of issues relating to protective measures, potassium iodide use, as well as safety of food and drinking water, mental health, travel, tourism, and trade. WHO is currently developing an initial health risk assessment linked to a preliminary evaluation of radiation exposure around the world from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.

A proposed framework for assessing risk from less-than-lifetime exposures to carcinogens.

Quantitative methods for estimation of cancer risk have been developed for daily, lifetime human exposures. There are a variety of studies or methodologies available to address less-than-lifetime exposures. However, a common framework for evaluating risk from less-than-lifetime exposures (including short-term and/or intermittent exposures) does not exist, which could result in inconsistencies in risk assessment practice.

The melamine incident: implications for international food and feed safety.

Background: A major food safety incident in China was made public in September 2008. Kidney and urinary tract effects, including kidney stones, affected about 300,000 Chinese infants and young children, with six reported deaths. Melamine had been deliberately added at milk-collecting stations to diluted raw milk ostensibly to boost its protein content.

The 2005 World Health Organization reevaluation of human and Mammalian toxic equivalency factors for dioxins and dioxin-like compounds.

In June 2005, a World Health Organization (WHO)-International Programme on Chemical Safety expert meeting was held in Geneva during which the toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for dioxin-like compounds, including some polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), were reevaluated. For this reevaluation process, the refined TEF database recently published by Haws et al. (2006, Toxicol.

Guidance on setting of acute reference dose (ARfD) for pesticides.

This paper summarises and extends the work developed over the last decade by the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) for acute health risk assessment of agricultural pesticides. The general considerations in setting of acute reference doses (ARfDs) in a step-wise process, as well as specific considerations and guidance regarding selected toxicological endpoints are described in detail. The endpoints selected are based on the practical experience with agricultural pesticides by the JMPR and are not a comprehensive listing of all possible relevant endpoints.

The risk assessment paradigm and its application for trichothecenes.

Risk analysis for trichothecene mycotoxins and other food contaminants, which are to a significant extent unavoidable, presents considerable challenges. Risk assessment is constrained by uncertainties associated with the lack of adequate data, and risk management must consider the fact that mycotoxin contamination can have serious impacts on trade and food sufficiency. These factors necessitate good communication between the risk assessors and risk managers in formulating the questions to be addressed by the risk assessment.

Human health risk assessment of processing-related compounds in food.

Many types of food processing techniques have been employed throughout human history, mainly to ensure microbiological and chemical safety of foods and to improve palatability. Growing consumer demand for healthy, nutritious and convenient food is a key driver for improvements and new developments in food processing. New processes or newly recognized compounds, often identified due to improved analytical capabilities, require careful evaluation of potential human health impact.