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			Abstract	
	
In its simplest form, risk is the product of hazard, i.e. toxic potency of a chemical substance, and exposure, or dose. Hazard-based decision-making is based solely on hazard without any consideration of exposure. The development of mitigation strategies should prioritise 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. This manuscript presents a framework for risk prioritisation of mycotoxins in food, integrating hazard assessment, exposure evaluation, and for the first time appraisal of mitigation strategies. More specifically, by (1) identifying the mycotoxins relevant for each food categories, by (2) assigning a severity score for the pivotal effect of each mycotoxin; by (3) calculating the respective food-categories' contributions to the combined exposures and by (4) assessing the existing mitigation strategies, the framework aims to prioritise mycotoxins based on their health risks and potential for effective risk mitigation. As a proof of concept, the framework was applied in two wheat-based food commodities - bread and pasta -, focusing on Ochratoxin A (OTA), Deoxynivalenol (DON), and Zearalenone (ZEN), revealing that OTA in bread is the highest priority concern, followed by DON in bread.

			Publication one-pager	
				
				
				
			
						Read the full paper
					
	
Commissioned by the Food Contaminants Task Force


                    [post_title] => Framework on risk prioritisation of mycotoxins in food: a case study in two wheat-based products
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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
	
				
				
				
			
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Commissioned by the Food Contaminants Task Force


                    [post_title] => The definition of chemical contaminants in food: Ambiguity and consequences
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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.


                    [post_title] => The role of endogenous versus exogenous sources in the exposome of putative genotoxins and consequences for risk assessment
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		Process-Related Compounds and Natural Toxins Task Force
		
	

		FOOD RELATED CONTAMINANTS
	
	
Mineral Oil Hydrocarbons may unintentionally contaminate food through different routes across food chains and the lifecycle of food contact materials.
Gaps in the knowledge about mineral oil hydrocarbons (MON) still exist despite the recent advances in the research field.
A workshop to identify those gaps was organized by the European Branch of the International Life Science Institute.
Some of these were identified to be:

the lack of validated and standardized analytical methods for relevant food matrices, and
gaps in assessing the risk for consumers' health.

The consensus is that the lack of standardized, validated analytical methods able to assure good inter-laboratory reproducibility is the main gap underlining most of the existing difficulties to understand MOH.
In order to conduct adequate substance identification and quantification for input into risk assessment, the need for confirmatory methods that provide a detailed characterization of the unresolved complex mixtures needs to be solved.
The limited number of surveys covering a wide range of foods and enough samples to detect major sources of contamination other than packaging in paperboard also hinders reliable exposure estimation.
				

		Decision tree to identify auxilary methods. (Adapted from Bratinova & Hoekstra, 2019)
	
			
 Industry sectors represented in the workshop
 
Food & Drink
Mineral Oil/Waxes
Testing Laboratories
Analytical Instruments
Food Contact Materials
Cosmetics
Petroleum
		
	
Read the full-text article here
			Scientific abstract 
							Expand
		Background

In recent years there have been significant advancements in the understanding of mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) in foods and their potential risk to health. However, important gaps in knowledge remain, such as the lack of validated and standardized analytical methods for relevant food matrices and gaps in assessing the risk for consumers' health.
Scope & approach

A workshop was organized by the European Branch of the International Life Science Institute to identify knowledge gaps in analytical methods, assessment of exposure, hazard characterisation, and risk assessment of MOH. This work captures the outcome of the workshop and builds upon it by combining the perspectives of the participants with an updated review of the literature to provide a roadmap for future management of the topic.
Key findings and conclusions

Most participants to the workshop agreed that the key issue underlying many of the knowledge gaps in the field of MOH risk analysis and management is the lack of standardized, validated analytical methods able to assure good inter-laboratory reproducibility and to enable understanding of MOH occurrence in foods. It has been demonstrated that method EN 16995 used for MOH determination in vegetable oils and fats is not reliable below 10 mg/kg of food. There is also a need for confirmatory methods that provide a detailed characterization of the unresolved complex mixture observed from one-dimensional chromatographic methods. This is required to enable adequate substance identification and quantification for input into risk assessment. A major gap in the exposure estimation is the limited number of surveys covering a wide range of foods and enough samples to detect major sources of contamination other than packaging in paperboard. Data on concentration of MOH fractions in human body needed to determine internal exposure estimates is scarce. Data relating concentration in tissues with personal data, lifestyle, food intake and the use of cosmetics are needed to clarify the complex system of distribution of MOSH in the body and to possibly establish relationship between external and internal exposure. Additional toxicological studies to better characterize the hazards of relevant MOH are required for a better human health risk assessment.
			Keywords
							Expand
		
Mineral oil hydrocarbon, Risk assessment, Exposure assessment, Food contaminant, MOSH, MOAH
					Number of participants in the workshop
		61
					from Academica, Public organisations, and Industry.
					EN 16995 used for MOH determination in vegetable oils and fats is not reliable below
		10
					mg/kg of food.
					Main indetified gaps in the knowledge of Mineral Oil Hydrocarbons
		8
	
To enable human risk assessment, the performance of toxicological studies on the relevant MOH mixtures and possibly their components is required.
	
This work was conducted in collaboration with the Packaging Materials Task Force.


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                    [post_title] => Practical Guidance to Mitigation of Mycotoxins During Food Processing
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			Abstract	
	
In its simplest form, risk is the product of hazard, i.e. toxic potency of a chemical substance, and exposure, or dose. Hazard-based decision-making is based solely on hazard without any consideration of exposure. The development of mitigation strategies should prioritise 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. This manuscript presents a framework for risk prioritisation of mycotoxins in food, integrating hazard assessment, exposure evaluation, and for the first time appraisal of mitigation strategies. More specifically, by (1) identifying the mycotoxins relevant for each food categories, by (2) assigning a severity score for the pivotal effect of each mycotoxin; by (3) calculating the respective food-categories' contributions to the combined exposures and by (4) assessing the existing mitigation strategies, the framework aims to prioritise mycotoxins based on their health risks and potential for effective risk mitigation. As a proof of concept, the framework was applied in two wheat-based food commodities - bread and pasta -, focusing on Ochratoxin A (OTA), Deoxynivalenol (DON), and Zearalenone (ZEN), revealing that OTA in bread is the highest priority concern, followed by DON in bread.

			Publication one-pager	
				
				
				
			
						Read the full paper
					
	
Commissioned by the Food Contaminants Task Force


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