Food Contaminants

Food Contaminants

Improving scientific knowledge on food contaminants to ensure safer products

Task Force Information

Objectives and list of Task Force
members

Contact Information

Contact details in case you have specific questions

Activity Overview

Overview of ongoing and upcoming activities

Expert Groups

Objectives, output and list of experts involved in each activity

Publications

List of publications of this
Task Force

Multimedia

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Completed Expert Groups

Details including experts involved of each activity

Task Force Information

Objectives

Food contaminants present a serious risk to consumer health. Enhancing our understanding of them is essential. The Task Force focuses on:

  • Advancing scientific knowledge on various contaminants, particularly assessing their impact on human health.
  • Addressing research gaps in toxicity, exposure, and analytical aspects.
  • Reviewing mitigation measures and supporting risk management strategies.

Task Force Members

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* Scientific Advisors

Contact Information

For more detailed information, please contact Konrad Korzeniowski at kkorzeniowski@ilsieurope.be

Activity Overview

Ongoing

- Update on Risk-Benefit Assessment of Foods: Approaches to Facilitate Application

An expert group on risk-benefits assessment of foods explores the reasons for limited application and seek practical solutions to increase the utility of this methodology in foods.

Start: Sep 2021 - End: Dec 2024

- Prioritisation of Natural Toxins for Risk Management Action

The Expert Group on the prioritisation of natural toxins for risk management action establishes a framework to prioritise natural toxins in foods following a riskbased approach. Based on the evidence and scale of risk to consumers, the framework will enable the differentiation between mycotoxins or phytotoxins where risk management action is both warranted and likely to be effective based on available evidence

Start date: Nov 2022 - End date: Nov 2025

- Food contaminant definitions

An expert group on food contaminant definitions explores existing definitions, their clarity and consistency. This activity un-picks the perceptual underpinning of those different definitions, the key parameters that drive them and the different stakeholders who use them and it identifies the possibility to consolidate a global definition of ‘food contaminant’.

Start date: Feb 2023 - End date: Feb 2024

Upcoming

- Early Career Scientist Seminar

A seminar for Early Career Scientists will take place in Q1 2025. Find more info here.

Expert Groups

Update on Risk-Benefit Assessment of foods: approaches to facilitate application

Background and Objectives

All foods contain chemical and biological impurities some of which may be viewed as contaminants of toxicological or microbiological relevance, depending on the definition used. Classical risk assessment does not reconcile the benefit to health of the food against the potential effects of the contaminants or the impact of mitigation measures that may be applied to reduce contaminants. A contaminant-centric view of a food can result in an incomplete understanding of the net health benefits of food by groups such as policy makers.

As such, methods for the comparison between benefits and risks have been developed, including the publication of guidance materials. Despite the availability of guidance, there have been a limited number of examples of risk-benefit analysis being used as an input for the risk management of foods by food safety agencies.

Output

This activity will review the evolution and application of risk-benefit assessment since its infancy, and thereby understand:

- Why risk-benefit assessment has not been more widely applied by food safety agencies in Europe?
- What are the available applications of RBA since the publication of guidance and what are the lessons learned?
- Whether existing guidance can be amended to improve applicability?
- The above learnings will be tested via a limited number of worked examples and summarized in a peer-reviewed publication.

Expert Group Members

 

WP DataTables

Approaches to Facilitiate Application Prioritisation of Natural Toxins for Risk Management

Background and objectives

In its simplest form, risk is the product of hazard (i.e., toxic potency of a chemical) and exposure (or dose). ‘’Hazard-based’’ decision-making is based solely on hazard without any consideration of exposure. The development of mitigation strategies should prioritize mycotoxins that regularly occur at undesirable levels in commonly consumed commodities, wherein both the toxicological profiles and effectiveness of mitigation are understood with a reasonable degree of certainty. The ultimate goal of mycotoxin mitigation is to prevent adverse health effects caused by foodborne exposure to mycotoxins while reserving nutritional and organoleptic quality of food. Based on the evidence and scale of risk to consumers, and the potential for risk mitigation, the framework will enable the differentiation between mycotoxins or phytotoxins where risk management action is both warranted and likely to be effective based on available evidence. Through case-studies, this framework will also highlight potential knowledge gaps.

Output

This activity will establish a framework for the prioritization of natural toxins found in food following a risk-based approach (Decision Tree). Based on the evidence and scale of risk to consumers, and the potential for risk mitigation, the framework will enable the differentiation between mycotoxins or phytotoxins where risk management action is both warranted and likely to be effective based on available evidence. Through case-studies, this framework will also highlight potential knowledge gaps.

Expert Group Members

WP DataTables

Food Contaminants Definitions

Background and Objectives

Chemical contaminants are a major focus of risk assessment and management, however there is no common definition of what constitutes a ‘food contaminant’. It is not clear which substances fall into scope of being considered a ‘food contaminant’, and it is not clear what criteria define a substance to be a ‘food contaminant’. As such there is confusion between stakeholders when there is any communication on the subject of ‘food contaminant’. As communication between stakeholders about food contaminants is frequent, there is a pressing need to explore understanding amongst stakeholders and seek clarity on how the term should be defined and therefore used. Activity will un pick the perceptual underpinning of those different definitions, the key parameters that drive them and the different stakeholders that use them. Moreover, identify if it is possible to consolidate a global definition of ‘food contaminant’ and explore the value of using the above understanding as a communication tool with food chain stakeholders.

Output

Overall, the research would provide a comprehensive understanding of the diverse definitions of ‘food contaminant’ among stakeholders, examine the factors influencing these definitions, evaluate the possibility of achieving a global definition, and highlight the potential benefits of using this understanding as a communication tool with stakeholders in the food chain.

Expert Group Members

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Publications

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The definition of chemical contaminants in food: Ambiguity and consequences

Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 2024

  • ILSI Europe

Consumers may be exposed via foods to a diverse range of substances that could be considered as contaminants. However, it is not always straightforward to understand the definition of a ‘contaminant’. The present review evaluates how various categories of food-relevant substances are considered in terms of being ‘contaminants’.

Read more

The Role of Hazard- and Risk-Based Approaches in Ensuring Food Safety

2015

  • ILSI Europe

Trends in Food Science & Technology. 2015;46(2) Part A:176-188. Supported by the following task forces: Emerging Microbiological Issues, Food Allergy, Food Intake Methodology, Novel Foods and Nanotechnology, Process Related Compounds and Natural Toxins, Risk Analysis in Food Microbiology, and Threshold of Toxicological Concern.

Read more

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		Abstract
	

	
Consumers may be exposed via foods to a diverse range of substances that could be considered as contaminants. However, it is not always straightforward to understand the definition of a 'contaminant'. The present review evaluates how various categories of food-relevant substances are considered in terms of being 'contaminants'. To this end these categories of food borne constituents are evaluated against the various criteria encountered in the available definitions of a food contaminant, including unintentional presence, harmful, existence of regulatory limits, and stakeholder perception. The categories of chemicals considered include: phytotoxins, mycotoxins, (heavy) metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), processing aids, process related contaminants, food contact materials (FCMs), pesticides and veterinary drugs. The evaluation revealed that usage of the term appears complex, and may differ between stakeholders. A common proposed definition of the term 'contaminant' could be 'a substance considered to require control measures due to the unacceptability of its context within a food'. Use of a dimension of harm results in equivocal outcomes because risk depends on the level of exposure. As the term 'contaminant' has influence on risk management including public policy, the motivations for applying the term should be subject to more detailed analysis and understanding.



		One-pager
	

				
			
						Read the full paper
					


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The "totality" of the human exposure is conceived to encompass life-associated endogenous and exogenous aggregate exposures. Process-related contaminants (PRCs) are not only formed in foods by heat processing, but also occur endogenously in the organism as physiological components of energy metabolism, potentially also generated by the human microbiome. To arrive at a comprehensive risk assessment, it is necessary to understand the contribution of in vivo background occurrence as compared to the ingestion from exogenous sources. Hence, this review provides an overview of the knowledge on the contribution of endogenous exposure to the overall exposure to putative genotoxic food contaminants, namely ethanol, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, acrylamide, acrolein, α,β-unsaturated alkenals, glycation compounds, N-nitroso compounds, ethylene oxide, furans, 2- and 3-MCPD, and glycidyl esters. The evidence discussed herein allows to conclude that endogenous formation of some contaminants appears to contribute substantially to the exposome. This is of critical importance for risk assessment in the cases where endogenous exposure is suspected to outweigh the exogenous one (e.g. formaldehyde and acrolein).

	
Link to download the full-text

			Keywords
							Expand
		
Endogenous exposure; Exposome; Genotoxins; Process-related contaminants

	
Commissioned by the Food Contaminants Task Force.



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Multimedia

One-Pager

Completed Expert Groups

Overview of completed activities

- Process-Related Contaminants as an Example for Holistic Dosimetry of Endogenous and Exogenous Exposures

- Mineral Oil Risk Assessment: Knowledge Gaps and Roadmap (collaboration with Packaging Materials Task Force)