The European Food Safety Authority
(“EFSA”) has reviewed how it
determines the identification of emerging risks and what those
risks are. The EFSA’s report of this review can be
accessed here.
The risks identified as key emerging concerns include:
- aflatoxins in cereal crops due to climate change;
- data on energy drinks focused on young populations;
- new analytical technologies and consumer exposure to multiple
chemical residues; and
- fluctuation in trade prices and food prices that may result in
negative consequences such as compromising safety and quality,
adulteration, instability in the food chain and adoption of less
healthy diets.
This process is anticipated to result in a final
evaluation and report from the Emerging Risks
(“EMRISK”) unit and Scientific
Committee Working Group (“SC WG”),
identifying the emerging risks and making recommendations for
possible actions.
This is a useful ‘snapshot’ of the emerging risks
identified by the EFSA that may similarly be considered by
industry, both from the point of view of risk reduction and in
informing EFSA’s position.
After evaluating more than 2200 issues, mainly from the rapid alert
system for food and feed (“RASFF”) and
scientific literature, the main specific evolving risks identified
are outlined below:
1. A study on the emergence of aflatoxins in cereal
crops in the EU due to climate change
This referenced the findings of a separate EFSA report on the
modelling, predicting and mapping of the emergence of
aflatoxins in cereals in the EU due to climate change (which can be
accessed here).
The predictions confirmed that maize is the cereal crop of concern
and that both human and animal populations could be exposed to a
high aflatoxin risk, at least in some EU regions, with scenarios of
climate change of +2°C to +5°C. Wheat presents a negligible
aflatoxin risk and rice no risk at all. The EFSA’s
suggestion is to gather data to understand the impact of the
application of good agricultural practices in the field and good
post-harvest management practices to control and prevent potential
aflatoxin risks.
The threshold level of toxicological concern was reviewed
separately and is accessible here.
2. An EU-wide survey to gather consumption data on
energy drinks focused on young populations
The EMRISK unit is now coordinating an EU-wide
survey to collect data on the consumption of energy drinks and some
active ingredients contained in certain energy drinks in specific
consumer groups. The survey includes children (aged 3 to 10
years), adolescents (11 to 17 years), and adults (18-65 years),
addresses specific habits (e.g. adolescents and adults practicing
intense physical exercise, and co-consumption of energy drinks and
alcoholic beverages) and patterns of consumption (acute and
chronic) of energy drinks in EU Member States.
The project is conducted in strategic consultation with relevant
stakeholders, such as EU and national health institutes and
organisations knowledgeable in data collection related to the human
consumption of energy drinks, and industry organisations. Once the
results have been assessed, a recommendation will be made on the
need or otherwise for risk assessment in this particular
area.
3. New analytical technologies
‘Ome’ and ‘omics’ are suffixes that are
derived from ‘genome’. ‘Omics’ technologies
have been identified as a driver with potential implications for
food and feed safety risk assessment. Omics technologies are
firmly established as research tools and are gaining credibility
also in risk assessment. Compared with traditional methods,
omics appear to combine the benefits of relative simplicity and
sensitivity with speed of generating information, potentially also
reducing the need for animal testing.
At an international level, risk assessment bodies (including
US-EPA, WHO and OECD) are currently starting to consider the
integration of omics in their risk assessment frameworks mainly in
the field of mechanistic toxicology. As a consequence, the
EFSA has initiated a project aimed at critically reviewing the
state of the art of omics technologies applied to food and feed
safety in order to understand possible future implications for risk
assessment in the areas under EFSA’s remit.
‘Synthetic biology’ has been identified as an emerging
technology and a driver of change that may impact on the food chain
in future. However, as food/feed applications are still some
way off, it was recommended that it is too early to carry out a
risk assessment but that developments in this area should be
monitored.
4. Human health risks from exposure to multiple
chemical residues
Whilst biological issues have given rise to a number
of safety issues recently (e.g. outbreak of E. coli O104 in Germany
and France in 2011), the EFSA is particularly focused on exposure
to chemical residues.
Human health risks from exposure to multiple chemical residues
(e.g. chemical mixtures) have been identified as an area that needs
further development and harmonisation within EFSA. In
particular, chemical mixtures related to metabolic interaction and
synergistic effects for human risk assessment have been prioritised
for follow-up action.
5. Sourcing - Trade routes, volume and prices
Trade pathways of food and feed commodities, plants
and live animals are changing over time. Consideration of
these pathways may be useful in the anticipation of the
introduction of hazards (e.g. plant or animal diseases) and the
estimation of exposure to hazards linked to certain importation
profiles. However there are limitations in the data due to
the quality of sources used.
Price changes (i.e. increase, decrease or fluctuation over time)
were suggested as a driving factor that may influence food
consumption and subsequently the intake of both nutrients and
contaminants. They may have negative consequences in terms of
food safety. In particular, they may lead to the compromise
of safety and quality, adulteration, instability in the food chain
and adoption of less healthy diets. However, the collation of
data in this area is complex.
Two reports on the fluctuations in trade volumes and food prices as
drivers of emerging risks have been commissioned.