The European Food Safety Authority published an updated scientific opinion on emerging and novel brominated flame retardants in food. Insufficient data prevented full risk assessments for most of the 27 chemicals evaluated.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) lowered the acceptable daily intake for trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) to a quarter of the previously established level, and also set an acute reference dose for the chemical for the first time.
At least 106 people have been infected by the outbreak strain in 13 European countries. Young people are disproportionately affected. Some sickened children reported eating the noodles and seasoning dry, without adding boiling water as instructed on the package.
Dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) are environmental contaminants generated as byproducts of industrial processes and waste incineration. EFSA’s risk assessment resulted in a lower tolerable weekly intake, which Europeans generally exceed.
Drawing from EFSA risk assessments, OpenFoodTox provides structured summaries of hazard information for thousands of individual substances, including food additives and flavorings, pesticides, contaminants, and food contact materials.
EFSA conducted an acute exposure assessment for glycerol in slushies and dealcoholized wine following reports of toddlers and young children experiencing glycerol intoxication due to excessive slushie consumption in a single sitting.
Based on the results of testing more than 125,000 food samples collected across Europe, compliance with EU pesticide maximum residue levels remains high, reported the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
None of the exposures to the five additives and flavorings assessed presented a health concern for the EU population. The pilot helped identify shortcomings in the monitoring framework that will be rectified for future reports.
The third Science Meets Policy conference will take place September 2–3 in Rome, Italy, focused on helping EU competent authorities and industry members effectively implement new WGS data-sharing requirements for foodborne pathogens.
EFSA has created new online portals where guidances are described and sorted for accessibility and ease of use by scientists, industry applicants, and other stakeholders. Additionally, future guidance documents will be developed following a new, standardized process.
