Editorial: The European Food Risk Assessment Fellowship Programme (EU-FORA)
Bronzwaer, S., Le Gourierec, N., & Koulouris, S. (2016). Editorial: The European Food Risk Assessment Fellowship Programme (EU-FORA). EFSA Journal, 14(11).
Scientific reports of the Fellows
Published in special issues of the EFSA Journal
2020
Doulgeridou A; Amlund H; Sloth J J; Hansen M
Review of Potentially Toxic Rare Earth Elements, Thallium and Tellurium in Plant-based Foods Journal Article
In: EFSA Journal, vol. 18, no. S1, pp. e181101, 2020.
Abstract | Links | Tags: plant-based food, Rare Earth Element, tellurium, thallium, toxicity, trace element
@article{https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.e181101,
title = {Review of Potentially Toxic Rare Earth Elements, Thallium and Tellurium in Plant-based Foods},
author = {Aik Doulgeridou and H. Amlund and J. J. Sloth and M. Hansen},
url = {https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.e181101},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.e181101},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
journal = {EFSA Journal},
volume = {18},
number = {S1},
pages = {e181101},
abstract = {Abstract In the last decades, there is an increasing inclusion of various trace metals and metalloids such as thallium, tellurium and rare earth elements (REEs; lanthanides, scandium, and yttrium) in the composition and production of alloys, in agricultural and medicinal applications, as well as in the manufacturing of hi-tech products. All these activities have led to an accumulation of the aforementioned elements both in soil and water bodies and consequently in the food chain, through discharges from mining and mineral processing, liquid industrial waste or disposal of urban and industrial products. It has been demonstrated that chronic exposure to some of these elements, even at low doses, might lead to a wide range of adverse health effects, even from the early stages of life, such as neurotoxicity, neurodevelopmental toxicity and hepatic alterations. Particularly in children, there have been studies suggesting that some of these elements might negatively affect the children's spatial learning and memory ability indirectly. Such effects are triggered by processes like the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation and modulation of antioxidant activities. Nevertheless, the limited data from toxicological studies and their so-far naturally low occurrence levels in the environment acted as a deterrent in measuring their concentrations during routine analyses of metals in foodstuff. Thus, it is important to collect information on their occurrence data both in adults and in children's daily diet. This review sumrises the current knowledge on the concentration of these elements, in plant-based food products to identify whether a potential health risk occurs. As side projects, this Fellowship provided hands-on training on the evaluation of new biocides application and participation in the given advice to the Danish Food and Veterinary Administration, Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the Danish Medical Agency and the European Chemicals Agency.},
keywords = {plant-based food, Rare Earth Element, tellurium, thallium, toxicity, trace element},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Shopova S; Sieg H; Braeuning A
Risk assessment and toxicological research on micro- and nanoplastics after oral exposure via food products Journal Article
In: EFSA Journal, vol. 18, no. S1, pp. e181102, 2020.
Abstract | Links | Tags: food, microplastics, nanoplastics, occurrence, risk assessment, toxicity
@article{https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.e181102,
title = {Risk assessment and toxicological research on micro- and nanoplastics after oral exposure via food products},
author = {Sofiya Shopova and Holger Sieg and Albert Braeuning},
url = {https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.e181102},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.e181102},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
journal = {EFSA Journal},
volume = {18},
number = {S1},
pages = {e181102},
abstract = {Abstract Plastics are used ubiquitously and have become part of our everyday life. The global production of plastics is rising, which in consequence is leading to increasing amounts of plastics being released into the environment. Recently, the issue of human exposure to micro- and nanoplastic particles and potentially resulting toxicological consequences has been broached, triggered by the discovery of microplastics in foodstuff. In addition to dietary exposure via contaminated food and beverages, other exposure paths such as via air and cosmetics, have to be considered. Currently there is no legislation for microplastics and nanoplastics as contaminants in food. Substantial data gaps with respect to exposure as well as toxicity of such particles impede the risk assessment. Within this EU-FORA fellowship project, a comprehensive data mining approach was followed, focusing on up-to-date knowledge on the occurrence and possible toxic effects associated with micro- and nanoplastics after oral exposure, especially via food products and beverages, in order to provide a basis for risk assessment and to identify important research gaps. The fellowship project was further complemented by practical work aimed at the determination of in vitro toxicity of micro-sized polylactic acid particles.},
keywords = {food, microplastics, nanoplastics, occurrence, risk assessment, toxicity},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}