Risk assessment of contaminants in food and feed, EFSA Journal publication

Abstract

The EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) carries out risk assessment on contaminants in food and feed. The presence of hazardous chemical contaminants or undesirable substances in food and feed is often unavoidable as these substances may occur ubiquitously or are of natural origin. Therefore, human and animal exposure to such substances is also unavoidable. The task of the CONTAM Panel is to assess whether or not exposure to a chemical contaminant in food is likely to be associated with adverse health effects in the European population. Similarly, the Panel assesses if the exposure to a contaminant in feed is likely to be associated with adverse health effects in farm animals, fish and pets in Europe, or to represent a risk to the consumer of foods of animal origin. In contrast to EFSA Panels dealing with regulated substances where inter alia applications are taken into account, the CONTAM Panel relies on scientific information that is in the public domain. EFSA often launches calls for data on occurrence of contaminants in food and feedstuffs where Member States and other interested stakeholders are invited to submit data. Whenever possible and required the CONTAM Panel establishes for a substance a health-based guidance value such as tolerable daily intake. For substances that are both genotoxic and carcinogenic, or for which the data are inadequate to establish a health-based guidance value, the margin of exposure approach is used. Recently the CONTAM Panel also used the threshold of toxicological concern approach. In addition, the CONTAM Panel considers inherent uncertainties in relation to objectives, exposure and hazard characterisation in its risk assessments. During 2003-2012, the CONTAM Panel published 107 scientific outputs (55 on food, 43 on feed, 9 on food and feed).

Full text

EFSA Journal 2012;10(10):s1004
Suggested citation: Alexander J, Benford D, Boobis A, Eskola M, Fink-Gremmels J, Fürst P, Heppner C, Schlatter J, van
Leeuwen R; Special Issue: Risk assessment of contaminants in food and feed. EFSA Journal 2012;10(10):s1004. [12 pp.].
doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2012.s1004. Available online: www.efsa.europa.eu/efsajournal
© European Food Safety Authority, 2012
SPECIAL ISSUE
Risk assessment of contaminants in food and feed
Jan Alexander, Diane Benford, Alan Boobis, Mari Eskola, Johanna Fink-Gremmels,
Peter Fürst, Claudia Heppner, Josef Schlatter, Rolaf van Leeuwen1, 2
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy
Received: 01 June 2012
ABSTRACT
The EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) carries out risk assessment on
contaminants in food and feed. The presence of hazardous chemical contaminants or undesirable substances in
food and feed is often unavoidable as these substances may occur ubiquitously or are of natural origin.
Therefore, human and animal exposure to such substances is also unavoidable. The task of the CONTAM Panel
is to assess whether or not exposure to a chemical contaminant in food is likely to be associated with adverse
health effects in the European population. Similarly, the Panel assesses if the exposure to a contaminant in feed
is likely to be associated with adverse health effects in farm animals, fish and pets in Europe, or to represent a
risk to the consumer of foods of animal origin. In contrast to EFSA Panels dealing with regulated substances
where inter alia applications are taken into account, the CONTAM Panel relies on scientific information that is
in the public domain. EFSA often launches calls for data on occurrence of contaminants in food and feedstuffs
where Member States and other interested stakeholders are invited to submit data. Whenever possible and
required the CONTAM Panel establishes for a substance a health-based guidance value such as tolerable daily
intake. For substances that are both genotoxic and carcinogenic, or for which the data are inadequate to establish
a health-based guidance value, the margin of exposure approach is used. Recently the CONTAM Panel also used
the threshold of toxicological concern approach. In addition, the CONTAM Panel considers inherent
uncertainties in relation to objectives, exposure and hazard characterisation in its risk assessments. During 2003-
2012, the CONTAM Panel published 107 scientific outputs (55 on food, 43 on feed, 9 on food and feed).
© European Food Safety Authority, 2012
KEY WORDS
CONTAM Panel, risk assessment, contaminants, human health, animal health
1 Correspondence: contam@efsa.europa.eu
2 Acknowledgement: The authors wish to thank the members of the CONTAM Panel 2003-2012: Jan Alexander, Guðjón
Atli Auðunsson, Herman Autrup, Denis Bard, Diane Benford, Christina Bergsten, Alan Boobis, Angelo Carere, Sandra
Ceccatelli, Andrew Cockburn, Lucio Guido Costa, Bruce Cottrill, Jean-Pierre Cravedi, Alessandro Di Domenico, Daniel
Doerge, Eugenia Dogliotti, Lutz Edler, Roberto Fanelli, Peter Farmer, Maria Luisa Fernández-Cruz, Metka Filipič,
Johanna Fink-Gremmels, Peter Fürst, Corrado Galli, John Gilbert, Philippe Grandjean, Thierry Guérin, Jadwiga Gzyl,
Gerhard Heinemeyer, Niklas Johansson, Helle Katrine Knutsen, Miroslav Machala, Antonio Mutti, Agneta Oskarsson,
Andrew Renwick, Martin Rose, Jirí Ruprich, Josef Schlatter, Greet Schoeters, Dieter Schrenk, Rolaf van Leeuwen, Carlos
Van Peteghem and Philippe Verger.

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EFSA Journal 2012;10(10):s1004
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INTRODUCTION
The mandate of the EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) is to deliver
scientific opinions on “contaminants in food and feed, associated areas and undesirable substances
such as natural toxicants, mycotoxins and residues of non-authorised substances not covered by
another Panel”. The European Union (EU) Food Law (Regulation (EC) No 178/20023) aims not only
to ensure a high level of protection of human health but also the protection of animal health. Within
this context the CONTAM Panel, over the nine years since its inception, has assessed human and
animal health risks related to the presence of persistent organic pollutants, natural toxins and plant
toxicants, metals and metalloids, reaction products from thermal food processing, cross-contamination
of feed for non-target animals with chemicals authorised for use such as feed additives, or non-
authorised substances such as hormones, and complex mixtures such as mineral hydrocarbons in food
and/or feed. During this period the CONTAM Panel has published 107 scientific outputs of which 55
address contaminants in food, 43 address contaminants in feed and 9 comprise a combined assessment
of contaminants in food and feed. The division of the scientific outputs according to the different areas
is presented in Figure 1. The majority of the requests were received from the European Commission
(EC) (95 %) a smaller amount of requests came from Member States (1 %) and the European
Parliament (1 %). In addition the CONTAM Panel carried out three self tasking activities during this
period.
The scientific output of the CONTAM Panel has helped risk managers, in most of the cases the EC but
also the Member States (MSs), to decide on the need for setting of maximum levels of contaminants in
food and feed and other revisions of the legislation or other possible follow-up measures in relation to
the presence of contaminants in food and feed.
This paper aims to provide an overview of the working principles used by the CONTAM Panel and
gives an outlook for future perspectives of risk assessments of contaminants in food and feed.
Figure 1: Overview of risk assessments provided by the CONTAM Panel between 2003 and 2012.
3 Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general
principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in
matters of food safety. OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1–24.
20
18
15
13
11
10
13
3
Persistent organic pollutants
Others
Mycotoxins
Marine biotoxins
Coccidiostats
Plant toxicants
Metals and other chemical
elements
Food process contaminant

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EFSA Journal 2012;10(10):s1004
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1. DATA SOURCES AND DATA MINING IN RISK ASSESSMENT – ASSUMPTIONS AND
UNCERTAINTY
In contrast to many other Panels, the CONTAM Panel does not base its risk assessments on an
application presented to EFSA, e.g. in the framework of a marketing authorisation procedure, but
relies on scientific information that is in the public domain. That holds for data on the toxicological
effects of the substances under investigation, for occurrence data in the relevant food and/or feed
matrices and for food or feed consumption data. These data are usually collected from publicly
available sources such as peer-reviewed papers published in scientific journals, official national
reports from EU MSs or risk assessment evaluations from international organisations such as the
World Health Organization. To complement these open data sources, the Data Collection and
Monitoring (DCM) Unit of EFSA regularly launches a call for data on occurrence of the substance(s)
of interest and collects food consumption data.
In response to these calls, mainly competent authorities of European countries but also other
stakeholders submit occurrence data in a specific format as requested by EFSA. Depending on the
substance(s) for which information is requested, the number of countries providing data and the total
number of submitted results may differ considerably. While for some contaminants (e.g. some marine
biotoxins and mycotoxins) only a small number of results was submitted, for other substances, such as
cadmium, the number of submitted results exceeded 100 000 (EFSA, 2004a; EFSA Panel on
Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2009a, 2010a, 2012a). It should be noted that normally
occurrence data submitted to EFSA do not stem from samples that were intended for risk assessment
purposes, but originate from samples that were analysed within the framework of official food and
feed control with the objective to check whether food and feed commodities comply with legal limits.
As a consequence, the data submissions often contain a high number of left-censored data, i.e. data
below the limit of detection (LOD) or the limit of quantification (LOQ). In addition, the LOD and
LOQ of the analytical methods are sometimes adjusted to the legal limits and not to the actual
background of the respective contaminants in food and feed. These issues may introduce considerable
uncertainty in the occurrence data and the submitted data are therefore thoroughly checked by the
DCM Unit to provide all relevant information and as reliable estimate as possible of the distribution of
the respective substance(s) in food and feed.
Human exposure is a key element in the risk assessment of contaminants. For this purpose, occurrence
levels in food are combined with consumption patterns across European populations to estimate
human exposure to the respective contaminants. In addition to the general population, the risk
assessments generally also consider the exposure of specific consumer groups, such as infants,
children, and people following specific diets (e.g. vegetarians). Information on consumption for all
these groups stems from national consumption surveys submitted to EFSA and combined in the
Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database. This database includes information from
more than 30 national dietary surveys from 22 European countries. In combination with the
occurrence data, it forms the basis for the estimation of human exposure to contaminants from food.
Depending on the nature of the toxicity of the contaminant of interest, chronic and/or acute exposure
assessments are performed, using probabilistic models where possible to provide some insight into the
uncertainties around the exposure estimate.
Comparable databases for feed consumption do not exist in Europe. Therefore the assessment of
animal exposure is based on the submitted occurrence data and/or the data collected from the literature
and from typical European feed regimes for various animal species.
Compared to the assessment of individual substances, additional uncertainties are introduced when the
risk assessment concerns mixtures of substances such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and flame
retardants such as polybrominated diphenylethers (EFSA, 2005a; EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the
Food Chain (CONTAM), 2011a,b). Due to their different physical-chemical properties, the different
components of these mixtures vary with respect to their behaviour in the environment and their
appearance in the food chain. Consequently the composition of the original technical mixture which

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EFSA Journal 2012;10(10):s1004
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was tested in toxicity studies generally does not resemble the composition of the mixture of substances
to which humans are exposed via food.
The evaluation of the inherent uncertainties in the assessment of exposure to contaminants is
performed following the guidance of the Opinion of the Scientific Committee related to Uncertainties
in Dietary Exposure Assessment (EFSA, 2006a). According to this guidance document, uncertainties
in assessment objectives, exposure scenario, exposure model, and model input (parameters) are
generally considered. In addition, uncertainties in the scientific basis of the hazard characterisation are
qualitatively considered. In this way the CONTAM Panel provides an overall assessment of the
uncertainties inherent in the risk assessments.
2. RISK ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES
The presence of chemical contaminants or other undesirable substances in food and feed is often
unavoidable as these substances may occur ubiquitously (e.g. dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs or heavy
metals such as lead and cadmium) or are of natural origin (e.g. inherent plant constituents such as
alkaloids, or mycotoxins such as aflatoxins (EFSA, 2004a-d, 2005a, 2006b, 2007a,b, 2008a, 2009a;
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2011c)). Therefore, human exposure to
such substances is also unavoidable. The risk assessment of chemical contaminants in food relies on
the integration of two components: knowledge about the human exposure to these substances via food
and other routes, and their potential to cause adverse health effects (i.e. the hazard). The risk is the
likelihood of the occurrence of adverse health effects at a given exposure. The task of the CONTAM
Panel is to assess whether or not exposure to a chemical contaminant in food is likely to be associated
with adverse health effects in the European population or in certain sub-groups. Whenever possible,
the CONTAM Panel establishes an exposure level at which there is no appreciable health risk, called a
health-based guidance value (HBGV) such as a tolerable daily intake. In the identification and
characterisation of the hazard the Panel takes into account all toxicological information available,
including studies on humans, experimental animals, cell- and other systems. In the absence of toxicity
data from humans, the HBGV is usually based on data from repeated-dose studies on experimental
animals, such as chronic toxicity or multigeneration studies in rats and mice. For the establishment of
an HBGV, a reference point (RP) needs to be identified, based, if possible, on mathematical modelling
of the dose-response relationship. The EFSA Scientific Committee recommended the use of a
benchmark dose lower confidence limit (BMDL) as the RP (EFSA, 2009b). The BMDL is an estimate
of the lowest dose that is 95 % certain to cause no more than a specified change in response over
background. If modeling is not considered appropriate, another RP may be used such as the no-
observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL), which is the highest dose not causing a statistically
significant adverse effect compared to the controls. The HBGV is established by dividing the RP by
uncertainty factors to account for extrapolation from animals to humans and for variability in human
sensitivity. In some cases the CONTAM Panel has been able to model human data and to incorporate
information from biomarkers of exposure or of effect in the characterisation of the hazard, e.g.
cadmium and lead (EFSA, 2009b,c; EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM),
2010b). This allows the use of a body burden approach, where an estimate of systemic exposure (body
burden), rather than external dose, is used in the risk characterisation.
As some substances the CONTAM Panel assesses could give rise to acute health effects in relation to
short periods of intake (e.g. certain metals, opium alkaloids, some mycotoxins or marine biotoxins),
the Panel establishes, if possible, an acute reference dose (ARfD) as the HBGV for such substances
(EFSA, 2008b-d, 2009d-h; EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2009a,
2011d). This is usually based on short-term toxicity data from experimental animals (e.g. acute
toxicity or developmental toxicity), but also based on human data when available (e.g.
pharmacological activity of opium alkaloids, outbreaks of food poisoning caused by some marine
biotoxins). Conversely, when a substance shows a long biological half-life, tends to accumulate in the
human body and exposure over a longer time period therefore matters, the CONTAM Panel usually
establishes a tolerable weekly intake as the HBGV (e.g. for cadmium or the mycotoxin ochratoxin A
(EFSA, 2006b, 2009a)). If human exposure to the substance from food and other sources is below the

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HBGV, the CONTAM Panel usually concludes that such exposure does not pose an appreciable risk to
human health.
This “classical” approach for risk assessment needs sufficient knowledge on human exposure (i.e.
occurrence data in food and food consumption data), a sufficiently sound toxicological database and
the absence of genotoxic potential. This is because the HBGV approach, which assumes a dose
threshold for toxicity, is not considered applicable to substances that are genotoxic. In contrast to the
situation for substances that are intentionally used for specific purposes in food production (e.g. food
additives and plant protection products), for food contaminants there is no manufacturer to provide
additional toxicological information. This is a particular challenge for the CONTAM Panel as,
unfortunately, the toxicity database on contaminants is often incomplete and limited (e.g. certain
marine biotoxins and many mycotoxins).
Many substances that the CONTAM Panel has to assess show genotoxic potential (e.g. aflatoxins,
ethyl carbamate, pyrrolizidine alkaloids or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (EFSA, 2004c,
2007a-c, 2008e; EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2009a, 2011c)). For
substances that cause genotoxicity by a mechanism involving reaction with DNA, it is not possible to
identify a dose threshold of effect. Until 2005, the advice given by the risk assessor to the risk
manager was to reduce exposure to such substances to a level that is as low as reasonably achievable
(known as the ALARA principle). However, it was long recognised that such advice does not provide
risk managers with a basis for setting priorities for action, either with regard to the urgency or to the
extent of measures that may be necessary. To overcome this, the EFSA Scientific Committee proposed
the margin of exposure (MOE) approach4 (EFSA, 2005b) as a harmonised approach for the risk
assessment of substances that are both genotoxic and carcinogenic. The MOE approach takes into
account the fact that carcinogens differ in their potency, that is, they differ in their likelihood of
inducing a tumor at a given dose over time. Information about potency is mostly derived from
laboratory studies on rodents (e.g. acrylamide or furan (EFSA, 2004e, 2005c)), since with few
exceptions (e.g. arsenic (EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2009b)),
human data are rarely available. The MOE approach, similar to the derivation of a HBGV, uses an RP
on the dose-response relationship often taken from an animal study, corresponding to a dose that
causes a low, but measurable cancer incidence in animals (usually the BMDL for a 10 % extra risk).
This RP is then compared with various dietary exposure estimates in humans, taking into account
differences in consumption patterns. The CONTAM Panel used this approach in several of its
assessments of substances that are both genotoxic and carcinogenic (e.g. ethyl carbamate,
pyrrolizidine alkaloids and PAHs (EFSA, 2007c, 2008e; EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food
Chain (CONTAM), 2011c)). Furthermore, the benchmark dose (BMD) approach can also be applied
to human data, which was done by the CONTAM Panel in its assessment of aflatoxin B1 (EFSA,
2007b).
The MOE approach is not confined to substances that are genotoxic and carcinogenic and it can also
be applied to cases where the data are insufficient or otherwise considered inappropriate to establish a
HBGV. As an example of this, the CONTAM Panel considered it appropriate to calculate MOEs to
support the risk characterisation of lead (EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain
(CONTAM), 2010b). The CONTAM Panel identified developmental neurotoxicity in young children
and cardiovascular effects and nephrotoxicity in adults as the critical effects for the risk assessment.
The Panel then calculated respective BMDLs for these effects from blood lead levels, which were then
extrapolated to external exposure levels for comparison to estimated dietary exposure in various
human population subgroups.
There are, however, situations in which the available data on a substance occurring in food do not
allow either the establishment of a HBGV or calculation of a BMDL for use as an RP in the MOE
approach. This was the case when the CONTAM Panel had to assess the Alternaria toxins (EFSA
4 The MOE is the ratio between a defined point on the dose-response curve for the adverse effect and the human intake, and
therefore it makes no implicit assumptions about a “safe” intake.

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Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2011e). In this case, the CONTAM Panel
explored the use of the “threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) approach”, which is a screening tool
that has been developed in order to assess substances with known structures of unknown toxicity
present at very low levels in the diet (EFSA Scientific Committee (SC), 2012). Application of the TTC
approach requires only knowledge of the chemical structure of the substance concerned and
information on human exposure, for which there is confidence that it is not an underestimate. It utilises
generic human exposure threshold values (also called TTC values) that have been established for
substances grouped according to their chemical structure and likelihood of toxicity. The human
exposure threshold values developed are based on data from extensive toxicological testing in animals.
There are a number of different threshold values and these can be used for substances either with or
without a structural alert for genotoxicity, respectively. At exposures below the generic human
exposure threshold values, the probability of adverse effects on human health is considered to be very
low. For Alternaria toxins there are few or no relevant toxicity data, but the chemical structure of
several of them is known and in addition dietary exposure data exist for some of them. In using the
TTC approach, the CONTAM Panel was able to assess the relative level of concern for dietary
exposure of humans to these mycotoxins (EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain
(CONTAM), 2011e).
3. ANIMAL RISK ASSESSMENT
A general principle of the EU food safety policy is the integrated “farm to fork approach” which
includes the protection of human as well as animal health (Regulation (EC) No 178/2002). Within this
context the EC tasked EFSA to provide the scientific bases for the revision of the European Directive
2002/32/EC5 which regulates undesirable substances in feed. Subsequently, the CONTAM Panel has
addressed over the nine years of its existence the risks to animal health due to the presence of many
substances, including toxic plant secondary metabolites (EFSA 2008a,f-i, 2009i; EFSA Panel on
Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2011c, 2012b), mycotoxins (EFSA, 2004c,d,f, 2005d,e;
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2011e,f, 2012a,c), persistent organic
pollutants (EFSA, 2005a,f-j, 2006c,d, 2007d,e), toxic metals (EFSA, 2004a,b, 2005k, 2008j) and other
substances, e.g. melamine and nitrite in feedstuffs (EFSA, 2009h; EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the
Food Chain (CONTAM), 2010c). Moreover, hazards related to feed production technologies (cross-
contamination of feed) for non-target animals from coccidiostats authorised in Europe (EFSA, 2007f,
2008k-t) and by-products of biofuel production (EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain
(CONTAM), 2010d) for farmed animals (ruminants, poultry, pigs and rabbits), fish, and companion
animals such as cats, dogs and horses were assessed. Within this mandate, the CONTAM Panel also
determined the possible impact on human health from the carry-over of undesirable substances or
contaminants into food of animal origin such as meat, milk, eggs and honey.
The assessment of animal health risks associated with the presence of undesirable chemical substances
in feed follows the same principles as the human health risk assessment (see Risk assessment
principles). However, in the hazard characterisation, species-specific and inter-species differences in
animals need to be taken into account. The exposure assessment and risk characterisation are based on
the respective animal species and their specific diets. The hazard characterisation aims to identify the
most relevant toxicological endpoint for the respective animal species to derive a safe intake level.
Most often a NOAEL/lowest-observed-adverse-effect level is identified, at least for major farm animal
species, but a BMDL can also be used (EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM),
2011f) as an RP. Physiological differences such as the microbiological flora in the forestomach of
ruminants and the species-specific rate of absorption and biotransformation have to be taken into
account when assessing the toxicokinetics of a chemical substance in target animal species. However,
such data are frequently not available and the available information is confined to case reports of
intoxications lacking information about the actual dose and time of exposure. The physiological
differences referred to above also influence the potential carry-over of toxic substances and/or their
5 Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 May 2002 on undesirable substances in animal
feed. OJ L 140, 30.5.2002, p.10–22.

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metabolites into food of animal origin. Therefore, the CONTAM Panel flags such uncertainties when
evaluating the effects of contaminants on animal species and, via animal-derived products, in humans.
Exposure estimates for animals take into account the amount of feedstuffs consumed by the respective
species, as well as the concentration of the particular contaminant in animal feed. Geographic origin,
climatic conditions and plant stress influence the level of many undesirable substances in animal
feeds. Analytical data on contaminants in feed are often made available by MSs and/or are taken from
the open literature (e.g. Alternaria toxins and citrinin in feed (EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the
Food Chain (CONTAM), 2011e, 2012a)). In Europe, different husbandry and farming systems for
animals exist and consequently the composition of animal diets varies considerably. This constitutes a
challenge in risk assessment. In order to address this, the CONTAM Panel has recently developed an
exposure assessment approach for animals taking into account common standards in animal nutrition.
In practice this means that for individual animal species and production stage (i.e. the age of the
animal) a standard consumption pattern per feed category has been defined that is combined with the
measured concentrations of the specific contaminant in feedstuffs. Where appropriate,
decontamination procedures are taken into account. The CONTAM Panel applied this approach for the
first time in the opinion on T-2 and HT-2 toxins in feed (EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food
Chain (CONTAM), 2011f).
The risk characterisation relates the estimate of animal exposure to the hazard characterisation and
concludes on potential animal health risks. However, due to a paucity of data on the shape of the dose-
response curve, there is usually considerable uncertainty in the assessment of possible health risks for
individual farm animal species, particularly minor species. As a result, animal health risk assessment
is still accompanied by a high degree of uncertainty and needs further development.
CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK
The CONTAM Panel conducts risk assessments on an enormous range of different types of chemicals,
adapting its approach depending on the types of data that are available, and the specific question that
has been asked. It is anticipated that future work will include instances where previously
uninvestigated environmental contaminants have been detected in food or feed. This will require risk
assessments to determine whether regulatory action is required. In other instances, the availability of
new information will require reassessment of previously reviewed contaminants. The EFSA emerging
risks activities are likely to identify topics for future evaluation, including some requiring urgent risk
assessments.
The CONTAM Panel will continue to seek ways to improve and refine its human and animal risk
assessments. Areas where developments are likely include further integration of animal and human
data, greater use of information obtained in mechanistically based in vitro assays, linked to mode of
action, high content analysis, such as toxicogenomics, quantitative structure-activity relationships and
other in silico approaches, and their use in read across and category formation. Increasing availability
of biomarker data and physiologically based toxicokinetic (PBTK) modelling will support the “margin
of body burden” approach. There is likely to be increased use of probabilistic modelling in exposure
assessment, including dealing with left-censored data and greater use of harmonised protocols for data
collection. Information on mode of action will be used to inform interpretation of dose-response
modelling of toxicity data, allowing individual variability to be better addressed. Mathematical
approaches will also be extended to other areas, such as the assessment of uncertainty. In instances
where it is not possible to provide a quantitative estimate of risk, it might still be possible to provide
some indication of relative risk, or to provide better guidance on key research needs. As the range of
contaminants broadens even further, it is likely that there will be an increasing workload on EFSA for
risk-benefit assessments and for assessments of the effects of combined exposure.

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About the authors
Jan Alexander, Member of the EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel)
from 2003 to 2012; Diane Benford, Member of the CONTAM Panel from 2005 to 2012, Vice-Chair
of the CONTAM Panel from 2009 to 2012 and Chair of the CONTAM Panel from 2012 to 2015; Alan
Boobis, Member of the CONTAM Panel from 2009 to 2012; Mari Eskola, Acting Head of the EFSA
Contaminants Unit (CONTAM Unit) from 2011 to 2012; Johanna Fink-Gremmels, Member of the
CONTAM Panel from 2003 to 2012 and Vice-Chair of the CONTAM Panel from 2006 to 2009; Peter
Fürst, Member of the CONTAM Panel from 2006 to 2012 and Vice-Chair of the CONTAM Panel
from 2012 to 2015; Claudia Heppner, Head of the CONTAM Unit from 2005 to 2011; Josef
Schlatter, Chair of the CONTAM Panel from 2003 to 2012; Rolaf van Leeuwen, Member and Vice-
Chair of the CONTAM Panel from 2003 to 2012.
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the Food Chain to a summary report on Acrylamide in food of the 64th meeting of the joint
FAO/WHO Expert Committee on food additives. The EFSA Journal (2005), 619, 1-2.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2005d. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to fumonisins as undesirable substances
in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2005), 235, 1-32

Risk assessment on contaminants
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9
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2005e.Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to ergot as undesirable substance in
animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2005), 225, 1-27.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2005f. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to Endosulfan as undesirable substance
in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2005), 234, 1-31.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2005g. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to camphechlor as undesirable substance
in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2005), 179, 1-39.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2005h. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to gamma-HCH and other
hexachlorocyclohexanes as undesirable substance in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2005), 250,
1-39.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2005i. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to endrin as undesirable substance in
animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2005), 286, 1-31.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2005j. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to aldrin and dieldrin as undesirable
substance in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2005), 285, 1-43.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2005k. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to Arsenic as undesirable substance in
animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2005), 180, 1-35.
EFSA(European Food Safety Authority), 2006a. Guidance of the Scientific Committee on a request
from EFSA related to Uncertainties in Dietary Exposure Assessment. The EFSA Journal (2006),
438, 1-54.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2006b. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to ochratoxin A in food. The EFSA
Journal (2006), 365, 1-56.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2006c. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to hexachlorobenzene as undesirable
substance in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2006), 402, 1-49.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2006d. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to DDT as undesirable substance in
animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2006), 433, 1-69.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2007a. Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in the Food
Chain on a request from the European Commission related to pyrrolizidine alkaloids as undesirable
substances in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2007), 447, 1-51.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2007b. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to the potential increase of consumer
health risk by a possible increase of the existing maximum levels for aflatoxins in almonds,
hazelnuts and pistachios and derived products. The EFSA Journal (2007), 446, 1-127.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2007c. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food chain on a request from the European Commission on ethyl carbamate and hydrocyanic
acid in food and beverages. The EFSA Journal (2007), 551, 1-44.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2007d. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the Commission related to heptachlor as undesirable substance in
animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2007), 478, 1-48.

Risk assessment on contaminants
EFSA Journal 2012;10(10):s1004
10
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2007e. Chlordane as undesirable substance in animal feed.
Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain. The EFSA Journal (2007), 582, 1-53.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2007f. Cross-contamination of non-target feedingstuffs by
lasalocid authorised for use as a feed additive. The EFSA Journal (2007), 553, 1-46.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008a. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on Tropane alkaloids (from Datura
sp.) as undesirable substances in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2008), 691, 1-55.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008b. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food chain on a request from the European Commission on marine biotoxins in shellfish –
okadaic acid and analogues. The EFSA Journal (2008), 589, 1-62.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008c. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food chain on a request from the European Commission on marine biotoxins in shellfish –
azaspiracids. The EFSA Journal (2008), 723, 1-52.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008d. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food chain on a request from the European Commission on marine biotoxins in shellfish –
yessotoxin group. The EFSA Journal (2008), 907, 1-62.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008e. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on Polycyclic Aromatic
Hydrocarbons in Food. The EFSA Journal (2008), 724, 1-114.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008f. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on ricin (from Ricinus communis) as
undesirable substances in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2008), 726, 1-38.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008g. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on glucosinolates as undesirable
substances in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2008), 590, 1-76.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008h. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on theobromine as undesirable
substances in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2008), 725, 1-66.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008i. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on gossypol as undesirable substance
in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2008), 908, 1-55.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008j. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food chain on a request from the European Commission on mercury as undesirable substance
in feed. The EFSA Journal (2008), 654, 1-76.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008k. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food chain on a request from the European Commission on cross-contamination of non-target
feedingstuffs by narasin authorised for use as a feed additive. The EFSA Journal (2008), 552, 1-36.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008l. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food chain on a request from the European Commission on cross-contamination of non-target
feedingstuffs by salinomycin authorised for use as a feed additive. The EFSA Journal (2008), 591,
1-38.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008m. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food chain on a request from the European Commission on cross-contamination of non-target
feedingstuffs by monensin authorised for use as a feed additive. The EFSA Journal (2008), 592, 1-
40.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008n. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on cross-contamination of non-target

Risk assessment on contaminants
EFSA Journal 2012;10(10):s1004
11
feedingstuffs by semduramicin authorised for use as a feed additive. The EFSA Journal (2008),
593, 1-27.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008o. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on cross-contamination of non-target
feedingstuffs by maduramicin authorised for use as a feed additive. The EFSA Journal (2008), 594,
1-30.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008p. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food chain on a request from the European Commission on cross-contamination of non-target
feedingstuffs by robenidine authorised for use as a feed additive. The EFSA Journal (2008), 655, 1-
29.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008q. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food chain on a request from the European Commission on cross-contamination of non-target
feedingstuffs by decoquinate authorised for use as a feed additive. The EFSA Journal (2008), 656,
1-26.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008r. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food chain on a request from the European Commission on cross-contamination of non-target
feedingstuffs by halofuginone hydrobromide authorised for use as a feed additive. The EFSA
Journal (2008), 657, 1-31.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008s. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on cross-contamination of non-target
feedingstuffs by nicarbazin authorised for use as a feed additive. The EFSA Journal (2008), 690, 1-
34.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2008t. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on cross-contamination of non-target
feedingstuffs by diclazuril authorised for use as a feed additive. The EFSA Journal (2008), 716, 1-
31.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2009a. Statement of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on the effects on public health of an
increase of the levels for aflatoxin total from 4 μg/kg to 10 μg/kg for tree nuts other than almonds,
hazelnuts and pistachios. The EFSA Journal (2009), 1168, 1-11.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2009b. Guidance of the Scientific Committee on a request
from EFSA on the use of the benchmark dose approach in risk assessment. The EFSA Journal,
(2009), 1150, 1-72.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2009c. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on cadmium in food. The EFSA
Journal (2009), 980, 1-139.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2009d. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on marine biotoxins in shellfish –
saxitoxin Group. The EFSA Journal (2009), 1019, 1-76.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2009e Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on marine biotoxins in shellfish –
pectenotoxin group. The EFSA Journal (2009), 1109, 1-47.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2009f. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on marine biotoxins in shellfish –
domoic acid. The EFSA Journal (2009), 1181, 1-61.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2009g. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on marine biotoxins in shellfish –
Summary on regulated marine biotoxins. The EFSA Journal (2009), 1306, 1-23.

Risk assessment on contaminants
EFSA Journal 2012;10(10):s1004
12
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2009h. Nitrite as undesirable substances in animal feed. The
EFSA Journal (2009), 1017, 1-47.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2009i. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in
the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on Saponins in Madhuca Longifolia
L. as undesirable substances in animal feed. The EFSA Journal (2009), 979, 1-36.
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2009a. Scientific Opinion on marine
biotoxins in shellfish – Palytoxin group. EFSA Journal 2009;7(12):1393. [38 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2009b. Scientific Opinion on Arsenic in
Food. The EFSA Journal 2009;7(10):1351. [199 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2010a. Scientific Opinion on marine
biotoxins in shellfish – cyclic imines (spirolides, gymnodimines, pinnatoxins and pteriatoxins).
EFSA Journal 2010;8(6):1628. [39 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2010b. Scientific Opinion on Lead in
Food. EFSA Journal 2010;8(4):1570. [147 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2010c. Scientific opinion on melamine
in food and feed. EFSA Journal 2010;8(4):1573. [145 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2010d. Scientific Opinion on the abiotic
risks for public and animal health of glycerine as co-product from the biodiesel production from
Category 1 animal by-products (ABP) and vegetable oils. EFSA Journal 2010;8(12):1934. [22 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2011a. Scientific Opinion on the risk to
public health related to the presence of high levels of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in liver from
sheep and deer. EFSA Journal 2011;9(7):2297. [71 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2011b. Scientific Opinion on
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in Food. EFSA Journal 2011;9(5):2156. [274 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2011c. Scientific Opinion on
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food and feed. EFSA Journal 2011;9(11):2406. [134 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2011d. Scientific Opinion on the risks
for public health related to the presence of opium alkaloids in poppy seeds. EFSA Journal
2011;9(11):2405. [150 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2011e. Scientific Opinion on the risks
for animal and public health related to the presence of Alternaria toxins in feed and food. EFSA
Journal 2011;9(10):2407. [97 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2011f. Scientific Opinion on the risks
for public health related to the presence of T-2 and HT-2 toxin in food and feed. EFSA Journal
2011;9(12):2481. [187 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2012a. Scientific Opinion on the risks
for public and animal health related to the presence of citrinin in food and feed. EFSA Journal
2012;10(3):2605. [82 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2012b. Scientific Opinion on the risks
for animal and public health related to the presence of phomopsins in feed and food. EFSA Journal
2012;10(2):2567. [52 pp.].
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), 2012c. Scientific Opinion on ergot
alkaloids in food and feed. EFSA Journal 2012;10(7):2798. [158 pp.].
EFSA Scientific Committee (SC), 2012. Scientific Opinion on exploring options for providing advice
about possible human health risks based on the concept of Threshold of Toxicological Concern
(TTC). EFSA Journal 2012;19(7):2750. [103 pp.].