EU Report Outlines Food Chemical Risk Assessment Data Gaps
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a report on the emerging challenges and opportunities in food chemical risk assessment data, focusing on gaps, existing sources, and recommendations for data improvements, with the ultimate goal of supporting stronger risk assessments for emerging chemical risks.
The report summarizes the findings of the EFSA-commissioned project Monitoring and Surveillance Data for Future Chemical Risk Assessment Needs in EFSA: Exploring New Opportunities. The project applied a structured approach combining a review of EFSA outputs, peer-reviewed literature, and an online survey of EFSA scientific units.
Data for eight chemical groups were examined: pesticides, environmental pollutants, biogenic substances, food additives and flavorings, food enzymes, food-contact materials, feed additives, and processing contaminants.
Existing Food Chemical Data and Critical Gaps
A total of 44 data gaps were identified, with 21 prioritized as highly relevant. Critical gaps included:
- Occurrence data for processed foods
- Metabolites and degradation products
- Human biomonitoring
- Combined exposure scenarios
- Data for sensitive or underrepresented populations.
Data source mapping included screening 66,958 literature entries, conducting web searches, and consulting with stakeholders. Source mapping yielded 230 unique data sources, of which only half (114) met the eligibility criteria of relevance; quality; and Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) principles.
Some topics were covered more thoroughly than others. For example, pesticides and environmental pollutants were well-represented, while food enzymes and feed additives exhibited severe deficiencies.
Approximately 60 percent of sources addressed multiple gaps or chemical groups, but data fragmentation, duplication, and lack of harmonization were common.
Challenges of Existing Data and Recommendations for Improvement
Persistent data challenges included fragmentation, poor interoperability, restricted access to private datasets, and limited geographical representativeness, hindering the operationalization of the One Health approach.
To address these challenges and improve data availability, quality, and interoperability, the report recommended:
- Generating new data to address underrepresented areas
- Harmonizing standards through FAIR principles and FoodEx2, an EFSA system for classifying and describing food and feed
- Improving data sharing via open or controlled-access frameworks
- Supporting the development of the EU Common Data Platform for Chemicals.
Implementation of these measures is predicted to improve data, reinforce scientific rigor, and enable EFSA to deliver proportionate, One Health-aligned risk assessments for emerging chemical challenges.
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