This episode of Food Safety Five discusses expert perspectives on the Healthy Florida First food contaminant testing program, including information gaps about the testing and risk assessment methodology and why this missing information matters.
The first set of results focuses on acrylamide and certain toxic heavy metals. Although the levels of some contaminants in food are decreasing overall, the population's exposure still remains concerningly high.
EFSA conducted a safety reevaluation for the sweetener sucralose, resulting in no change to the acceptable daily intake (ADI). EFSA also considered a proposed extension for the use of sucralose in fine bakery wares, but was unable to determine its safety.
Like the Healthy Florida First initiative’s previous reports on toxic heavy metals in candy and infant formula, details that would help contextualize the findings have not been disclosed, such as the sampling and testing methodology or relevant safety thresholds
The first reports from the MAHA-aligned Healthy Florida First initiatives raised concern about toxic heavy metals in infant formula and candy, but toxicologists say a lack of transparency around the methodology and risk assessment makes the findings difficult for experts to interpret and raises questions about the relevance to consumer health.
The UK Government’s PFAS Plan addresses human dietary exposure and food and water contamination, environmental monitoring, potentially restricting PFAS uses, and other actions.
A first-of-its-kind French study has demonstrated that food additives are consumed as mixtures by children and adults, underscoring the importance of considering combined exposures in food safety evaluations.
A European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) draft scientific opinion, which lowers the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) for dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), is available for public feedback. The new TWI is exceeded by Europeans in all age groups.
In a new paper supported by the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS), experts demystify Probabilistic Exposure Assessments (PEAs)—a more accurate approach for estimating dietary exposure to chemicals—by offering a comprehensive overview of their history, applications, and regulatory guidance.
After an updated risk assessment on fluoride exposure in the EU, focusing especially on developmental neurotoxicity in children, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) revised the tolerable upper intake levels (ULs) for fluoride. EFSA concluded there is no major health risk considering the new ULs and current EU drinking water limits for fluoride.
