Scientists Propose Toxicological Screening Approach for Broader Identification of Hazardous Food Contact Chemicals
Researchers from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the Food Packaging Forum have proposed a panel of 15 high-throughput in vitro bioassays for screening chemicals for biological activity associated with six groups of noncommunicable chronic diseases.
Published in Environment International, the study mapped 266 Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) associated with cancer, reproductive disorders, metabolic disease, immunological disorders, cardiovascular disease, and brain-related disorders. The researchers analyzed the pathways as networks to identify biological events at which pathways diverged, converged, or played central roles in disease development.
Based on the analysis, the researchers selected 15 high-throughput bioassays intended to screen chemicals for biological activity relevant to the six disease groups.
The work was conducted as part of CoModHaz, a co-creation project led by Prof. Beate Escher, Ph.D. of UFZ. The project aims to develop high-throughput, animal-free approaches for hazard screening of chemicals, transformation products, and mixtures. The Food Packaging Forum has participated in the project alongside regulators and industry stakeholders.
Potential Application to Food Packaging Chemicals
According to the researchers, one potential application of the proposed approach is screening food packaging for chemical hazards, including those posed by non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) that may be unknown or untested.
The approach could help address limitations in existing chemical testing. Current requirements may focus on specific endpoints, such as genotoxicity, and often assess individual substances, while consumers can be exposed to mixtures of chemicals from multiple products.
“By translating these prioritized endpoints into in vitro assays suitable for high-throughput screening, we are making the results here actionable,” said lead author Sarah Stevens, Ph.D., of UFZ. She added that the proposed panel could enable broader toxicological screening than is currently standard practice.
Looking for quick answers on food safety topics?
Try Ask FSM, our new smart AI search tool.
Ask FSM →
Research Builds on Efforts to Identify and Prioritize Food Contact Chemicals
The new testing approach complements Food Packaging Forum research aimed at identifying food contact chemicals (FCCs) that may warrant greater scrutiny. Previous work has documented thousands of FCCs that can migrate from food contact materials, identified hundreds that have been detected in humans, and highlighted significant gaps in available hazard data.
Most recently, Food Packaging Forum researchers proposed grouping structurally similar FCCs to prioritize chemicals for safety evaluation and help prevent regrettable substitutions. According to the Food Packaging Forum, more than 1,200 FCCs are already known to be hazardous to human health, and upwards of 13,000 lack sufficient data to determine safety.
Validation Studies for Food Packaging Chemicals Underway
The proposed bioassays must next be validated to determine their effectiveness in identifying known hazardous chemicals. According to the Food Packaging Forum, a study applying the approach to food contact chemicals from food packaging is already underway.
Jane Muncke, Ph.D., study co-author from the Food Packaging Forum, said the new testing methods could support more systematic identification of exposures to hazardous chemicals in everyday products.
The researchers described the proposed bioassay panel as a starting point that could be updated as scientific knowledge and testing technologies advance.
