Opinion of the Scientific Panel on food additives, flavourings, processing aids and materials in contact with food (AFC) on a request from the Commission related to Flavouring Group Evaluation 20 (FGE.20): Benzyl alcohols, benzaldehydes, a related acetal,

Scientific opinion on Prosmoke BW 01

The EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF) was requested to evaluate the safety of Prosmoke BW 01 as a new smoke flavouring primary product, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2065/2003. Prosmoke BW01 is produced by pyrolysis of beechwood (Fagus sylvatica L.) sawdust. Its water content is estimated at 56 wt%, the total identified volatile fraction accounts for 28 wt% of the primary product, corresponding to 64% of the solvent-free mass, while the unidentified fraction amounts to 16 wt% of the primary product. Analytical data provided for three batches demonstrated that their batch-to-batch-variability was sufficiently low. However, for the batch used for the toxicological studies, there were substantial deviations in the concentration of nearly all the constituents compared to the other three batches. The dietary exposure of Prosmoke BW 01 was estimated to be between 6.2 and 9.2 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day, respectively, using SMK-EPIC and SMK-TAMDI. Using the FAIM tool, the 95th percentile exposure estimates ranged from 3.2 mg/kg bw per day for the elderly to 17.9 mg/kg bw per day for children. The Panel noted that furan-2(5H)-one is present in all batches of the primary product at an average concentration of 0.88 wt%. This substance was evaluated by the FAF Panel as genotoxic in vivo after oral exposure. The Panel considered that the (geno)toxicity studies available on the whole mixture were not adequate to support the safety assessment, due to limitations in these studies and because they were performed with a batch which may not be representative for the material of commerce. Considering that the exposure estimates for furan-2(5H)-one are above the TTC value of 0.0025 μg/kg bw per day (or 0.15 μg/person per day) for DNA-reactive mutagens and/or carcinogens, the Panel concluded that Prosmoke BW 01 raises a concern with respect to genotoxicity.

Toxic Effects of the Mixture of Phthalates and Bisphenol A-Subacute Oral Toxicity Study in Wistar Rats

Phthalates and bisphenol A, classified as endocrine disruptors, have weak estrogenic, anti-androgenic properties, and affect thyroid hormone regulation. The aim of this study on male rats was to compare the subacute toxic effects of low doses of single compounds (bis (2 -ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and bisphenol A (BPA)) with the effects of their mixture through different biochemical, hormonal, and hematological parameters. Rats were divided into five experimental groups: Control (corn oil), DEHP (50 mg/kg b.w./day), DBP (50 mg/kg b.w./day), BPA (25 mg/kg b.w./day), and MIX (50 mg/kg b.w./day DEHP + 50 mg/kg b.w/day DBP + 25 mg/kg b.w./day BPA). Animals were sacrificed after 28 days of oral treatment and blood was collected for further analysis. The results demonstrated that the mixture produced significant changes in lipid profile, liver-related biochemical parameters, and glucose level. Furthermore, the opposite effects of single substances on the thyroxine level have been shown in comparison with the mixture, as well as a more pronounced effect of the mixture on testosterone level. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on the toxicology of mixtures and gives one more evidence of the paramount importance of mixture toxicity studies, especially in assessing the endocrine disruptive effects of chemicals.

Integrated exposure and risk characterization of bisphenol-A in Europe

The current study aims at a comprehensive risk characterization of bisphenol A (BPA) supported by an integrated exposure modelling framework that comprises far field and near field exposure modelling coupled to a dynamic lifetime PBTK model. Exposure analysis was done on European data of BPA food residues and human biomonitoring (HBM). The latter were further assimilated through an advanced exposure reconstruction modelling framework to estimate the corresponding external and internal systemic dose of BPA and its metabolites. Special attention was paid on the assessment of exposure to BPA during critical developmental stages such as gestation by modelling the mother-fetus toxicokinetic interaction. Our findings showed that current exposure levels in Europe are below the temporary Tolerable Daily Intake (t-TDI) of 4 μg/kg_bw/d proposed by the European Food Safety Authority. Taking into account age-dependent bioavailability differences, internal exposure of premature neonates hosted in intensive care units was reckoned close to the biologically effective dose (BED) resulting from translating the EFSA temporary total daily intake (t-TDI) into equivalent internal dose. Use of the ToxCast21 Biological Pathway Altering Dose (BPAD) as an alternative internal exposure reference value, resulted in increased margins of safety compared to the conventional exposure/risk characterization scheme.

Dietary exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in metropolitan population from China: a risk assessment based on probabilistic approach

The intake of contaminated foods is an important exposure pathway for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). However, data on the occurrence of EDCs in foodstuffs are sporadic and the resultant risk of co-exposure is rarely concerned. In this study, 450 food samples representing 7 food categories (mainly raw and fresh food), collected from three geographic cities in China, were analyzed for eight EDCs using high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Besides estrone (E1), other EDCs including diethylstilbestrol (DES), nonylphenol (NP), bisphenol A (BPA), octylphenol (OP), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), and estriol (E3) were ubiquitous in food. Dose-dependent relationships were found between NP and EE2 (r=0.196, p<0.05), BPA (r=0.391, p<0.05). Moreover, there existed a correspondencebetween EDCs congener and food category. Based on the obtained database of EDCs concentration combined with local food consumption, dietary EDCs exposure was estimated using the Monte Carlo Risk Assessment (MCRA) system. The 50th and 95th percentile exposure of any EDCs isomer were far below the tolerable daily intake (TDI) value identically. However, the sum of 17β-estradiol equivalents (∑EEQs) exposure in population was considerably larger than the value of exposure to E2, which implied the underlying resultant risk of multiple EDCs in food should be concern. In conclusion, co-exposure via food consumption should be considered rather than individual EDCs during health risk evaluation.

Facilitating the use of non-standard in vivo studies in health risk assessment of chemicals: a proposal to improve evaluation criteria and reporting

To improve data availability in health risk assessment of chemicals and fill information gaps there is a need to facilitate the use of non-standard toxicity studies, i.e. studies not conducted according to any standardized toxicity test guidelines. The purpose of this work was to propose criteria and guidance for the evaluation of reliability and relevance of non-standard in vivo studies, which could be used to facilitate systematic and transparent evaluation of such studies for health risk assessment. Another aim was to propose user friendly guidance for reporting of non-standard studies intended to promote an improvement in reporting of studies that could be of use in risk assessment. Requirements and recommendations for the design and execution of in vivo toxicity studies were identified from The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) test guidelines, and served as basis for the data evaluation criteria and reporting guidelines. Feedback was also collected from experts within the field of toxicity testing and risk assessment and used to construct a two-tiered framework for study evaluation, as well as refine the reporting guidelines. The proposed framework emphasizes the importance of study relevance and an important aspect is to not completely dismiss studies from health risk assessment based on very strict criteria for reliability. The suggested reporting guidelines provide researchers with a tool to fulfill reporting requirements as stated by regulatory agencies. Together, these resources provide an approach to include all relevant data that may fill information gaps and reduce scientific uncertainty in health risk assessment conclusions, and subsequently also in chemical policy decisions.