Food Safety Aspects of Organic Environmental Chemical Contaminants, Excluding Dioxins and PCBs

In addition to dioxins and PCBs there are a large number of organic environmental chemical contaminants (approximately 50,000) that may be present in food adventitiously as a result of human activity or from natural sources. These include such groups as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, phthalates, brominated flame retardants and musks.

The aim of the research programme is to understand the pathways by which organic contaminants enter food, the levels at which they occur, and the mechanisms by which they accumulate through the food chain. This information will help improve our communication of risks to consumers and food producers, and to identify effective and proportionate means of minimising the levels of harmful contaminants in food available to consumers by animal husbandry measures, differential sourcing, refining and where necessary decontamination processes.

The programme supports the Agency's strategy on the chemical safety of food. It contributes to the aims of ensuring that chemicals, if present in food, do not compromise food safety and of having appropriate and enforceable controls in place.

In addition to dioxins and PCBs there are a large number of organic environmental chemical contaminants (approximately 50,000) that may be present in food adventitiously as a result of human activity or from natural sources. These include such groups as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, phthalates, brominated flame retardants and musks. They may be introduced at any point in the food chain from growth and harvesting through to storage and processing. Exposure to these contaminants is potentially harmful in excess.

There are some data on occurrence, exposure and toxicity of organic contaminants. This Programme will build on these data by:

i) identifying emerging concerns and improving our understanding of the entry, pathways and transformations of chemicals of interest into and through the food chain, their uptake and effects on consumers;
ii) identifying ways to minimise contamination, exposure, or its effects; and
iii) identifying particular groups of foods that are susceptible to higher levels of contamination, and the implications this has to consumers' exposure, particularly for the most sensitive population groups.

The work Programme as a whole should enable the Food Standards Agency to assess, reduce and communicate the risk to consumers from organic environmental contaminants present in food, and inform the UK in international negotiations on setting appropriate controls on these contaminants.

Information is needed about how organic chemical contaminants enter and are distributed throughout the food chain, their uptake and transformation by plants and animals and their effects on humans in order to protect the consumer and to focus advice, surveillance activities and legislation appropriately. The work will contribute to the Agency and Divisional objectives of ensuring that chemicals, if present in food, do not compromise food safety and to help develop policies to further reduce consumers' exposure to these chemicals, for example by enabling effective and enforceable controls to be put in place. This information will inform discussions with the EU and other international bodies when negotiating such controls and related legislation. Work on dioxins and PCBs are covered by another Programme.

This Programme will build on existing data by pursuing the following broad areas:

1. Identifying emerging concerns and improving our understanding of the entry, pathways and transformations of chemicals of interest into and through the food chain. This will build on previous data and appraisals of these, including the existing Programme C01, its MAFF predecessor FS21, consultation with the WPCC; recommendations from the COT and other independent groups; emerging concerns in the EU and elsewhere – for example, contaminants identified on the work programmes of the EC Working Party on Contaminants, the SCF, SCOOP and JECFA. It will also take account of the work of other bodies with overlapping interests, and take advantage, where appropriate, of opportunities for collaborative work with environment and health departments/agencies with an interest in the health impacts of environmental contaminants.

Improvements in assessing exposures will be possible: gross estimates may be refined to give better indications of potential effect. This work will also offer improvements in our ability to model or otherwise estimate exposures from environmental contaminants.

2. Developing improved analytical methods. This may include development and/or validation of new or improved methods, plus work to improve analytical performance, and reduce cost (including for existing methods). This will contribute to the availability of reliable accurate analytical data that may be used to develop more accurate risk assessments, more effectively targeted advice and controls, as well as promoting best practice to achieve more efficient and effective enforcement.

3. Identifying particular groups of foods that are susceptible to higher levels of contamination. This will also contribute to the identification of trends in consumers' exposure.

This information will be used to refine assessments of risks from contaminants in food and assess options to manage them. This will contribute to the Agency's ability to provide soundly based targeted advice to the public and to liase and negotiate effectively within Europe and internationally to develop appropriate controls.

Name: David Mortimer
Tel: 020 7276 8731
Email: david.mortimer@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk