The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has reviewed data on glyphosate residues on crops and determined that "current exposure levels are not expected to pose a risk to human health." The review includes two reports examining crops grown for human consumption as well as crops used in animal feed. EFSA reportedly relied on comparisons between the diets of EU adults and children and the glyphosate intake values the agency recommended in 2015.
Category Archives European Food Safety Authority
The European Commission has proposed changes to directives governing food safety, marketing and distribution. According to an EU news release, the proposal would update the General Food Law, "which dates back from 2002 and thus needs an update," and "will give citizens greater access to information submitted to the European Food Safety Authority [(EFSA)] on approvals concerning the agri-food chain." The EU proposes to create a registry of commissioned studies available to the public and predicts that Member States will be more involved in EFSA's governance structure and scientific panels. The proposal also reportedly targets "dual foods," or foods marketed across the continent but produced and sold with ingredients of reduced quality in some areas. Additional details on the New Deal for Consumers, including proposed rules on collective redress, appear in Shook's Product Liability Bulletin.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a scientific opinion reevaluating the safety of silicon dioxide used as a food additive, concluding that the available information is insufficient to confirm the current acceptable daily intake. The panel reportedly found no indication of adverse effects or genotoxicity, but it questioned a long-term study indicating silicon dioxide is not carcinogenic because the description of the primary particle size was not reported. The panel recommended that the European Commission consider lowering the current limits for arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium in the current specifications for silicon dioxide to ensure it will not be a source of exposure to those elements.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has opened a public consultation period on draft guidance for the agency’s risk assessment of nanoscience and nanotechnology applications in human and animal food. The draft, intended to update the 2011 guidance, will include coverage of novel foods, food contact materials, food and feed additives and pesticides. It also considers in vivo and in vitro toxicology studies and outlines a tiered framework for testing. The deadline for submission of public comments is March 4, 2018.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a consultation on its draft protocol for its scientific opinion on free sugars. The protocol responds to five member states' request seeking "a science-based cut-off value for a daily exposure to added sugars from all sources (i.e. sucrose, fructose, glucose, starch hydrolysates such as glucose syrup, high-fructose syrup and other isolated sugar preparations used as such or added during food preparation and manufacturing) which is not associated with adverse health effects." EFSA will not accept comments "related to policy or risk management aspects, which are out of the scope of EFSA's activity." Comments will be accepted until March 4, 2018.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued an assessment of the risks of furans and related compounds 2- and 3-methylfurans, concluding that they pose a higher risk to infants—the most exposed group—than older children or adults because infants consume jarred or canned foods with high mean concentrations of the materials. Risks associated with furan exposure reportedly include liver damage and liver cancer. According to EFSA, furan exposure might be reduced through preparation methods such as reheating ready-to-eat foods in a hot-water bath without a lid because evaporation can remove some furan content. EFSA also reported that the highest exposure in adults was attributable to coffee; high mean concentrations of furan were found in whole roasted coffee beans, ground roasted coffee, coffee imitates and instant coffee powder.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has determined that member states cannot invoke the “precautionary principle” to restrict the cultivation and sale of crops developed from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) if the European Commission has not determined that the crops “are likely to constitute a serious risk to human health, animal health or the environment.” Case C-111/16, Italy v. Fidenato (E.C.J., entered September 13, 2017). The ruling responded to a request from an Italian court overseeing the prosecution of three farmers accused of growing GMO maize in violation of Italian law. The district court judge stayed the criminal proceedings to ask the ECJ whether Italy had the authority to ban the crop despite EC approval of its cultivation and sale. In 2013, Italy asked the European Commission to adopt emergency measures allowing member states to apply a “precautionary principle” and implement risk-management measures where “the possibility of harmful effects on…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a statement rejecting an Italian study claiming a link between the use of the sweetener sucralose and cancer in mice. The EFSA Journal’s review of a 10-year study conducted by the Ramazzini Institute criticized the study’s design and methodology, concluding that available data does not support the institute’s claim that sucralose may cause lymphoma or leukemia in mice. Among other criticisms, the panel said the design introduced too many variable factors that could make the data difficult to interpret, and there was no demonstrated dose-response relationship between exposure to sucralose and incidence of cancer. EFSA also pointed to the study’s failure to establish a cause-effect relationship in epidemiological studies and said there was no reliable evidence of in vivo or in vitro genotoxicity. Issue 634
The Panel of Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food, a branch of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), has conducted a reassessment on the effects of acacia gum used in food products and reportedly found 30,000 milligrams per person per day to be well-tolerated. The scientific opinion apparently found no carcinogenic or other adverse effects of acacia gum, which is "unlikely to be absorbed intact and is slightly fermented by intestinal microbiota," at the refined exposure assessment for the reported uses of the ingredient as a food additive. Issue 631
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released a searchable database of botanicals that contain naturally occurring substances of potential concern to human health. The compendium is intended for use as a safety assessment tool for food and dietary supplement manufacturers. The compendium will reportedly be expanded to include non-European botanical species and is expected to be finalized in early 2017. See EFSA News Release, July 5, 2016. Issue 610
