The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Unit on Feed and Contaminants has launched a public consultation regarding the draft scientific opinion on the update of the risk assessment of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and its derivatives in food. TBBPA is a common type of brominated flame retardants (BFR), used in a wide range of consumer and commercial products. There has been increasing concerns in recent years due to the occurrence of several chemical compounds from this group of BFRs in the environment, food, and humans.
Addressing concerns around BFRs, the European Commission (EC) asked EFSA to update its 2010–2012 risk assessments on different families of BFRs, that is: hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and its derivatives, brominated phenols and their derivatives, and novel and emerging BFRs. EFSA’s Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) is updating the risk assessments of different classes of BFRs in a series of separate opinions. The CONTAM Panel is also considering the appropriateness of applying a mixture approach including the different BFR families in an additional opinion once the risk assessment for each BFR family has been updated.