Food Safety, Chemical Contaminants and Toxins

Analysis of 20 year data for the assessment of dietary exposure to chemical contaminants in the region of Thessaly, Greece

Data on the incidence and levels of chemical contaminants in foods are needed for continuous assessment of the safety of the food supply and to inform the public about the safety of food. A larger share of the total analytical resource--federal and state government, private sector, and academia--could profitably be directed to collection and publication of data on the occurrence of chemical contaminants in foods. The quest for more data must be accompanied by measures to ensure data reliability and comparability and to estimate the uncertainty of measurements. Research to improve the efficiency of analysis may be the top priority for future methods improvement studies. Analytical chemistry will continue to be an essential factor in assuring a safe food supply and in communicating to the public accurate information and conclusions about food safety.

Referee: Dr. Michael Voldrich, Dept. of Food Preservation and Meat Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Technicka 3, 166 28 Praha 7, Czech RepublicHazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a systematic approach to the identification, assessment, and control of hazards that was developed as an effective alternative to conventional end-point analysis to control food safety. It has been described as the most effective means of controlling foodborne diseases, and its application to the control of microbiological hazards has been accepted internationally. By contrast, relatively little has been reported relating to the potential use of HACCP, or HACCP-like procedures, to control chemical contaminants of food. This article presents an overview of the implementation of HACCP and discusses its application to the control of organic chemical contaminants in the food chain. Although this is likely to result in many of the advantages previously identified for microbiological HACCP, that is, more effective, efficient, and economical hazard management, a number of areas are identified that require further research and development. These include: (1) a need to refine the methods of chemical contaminant identification and risk assessment employed, (2) develop more cost-effective monitoring and control methods for routine chemical contaminant surveillance of food, and (3) improve the effectiveness of process optimization for the control of chemical contaminants in food.

Comparison of Organic and Conventional Food and Food Production

A total of 76 participants attended the Workshop held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They came from Canada (39), the USA (14), Belgium (4), Qatar (3), France (3), 2 each from the Netherlands, Portugal, the UK, Ireland, and one each from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Israel, and Hong Kong, Of these, 33 were from government, 15 were from academia, 17 were instrument and equipment manufacturers and primary producers, 10 represented industry and one was a retired government official. While the majority of participants were involved in generating the database for risk analysis and risk assessment for the veterinary drugs of interest to this community, a sizeable number of participants were risk managers directly involved in making risk policy and risk management decisions. This Proceedings captures some of the relevant contributions presented at the SASKVAL III Workshop which was organized to assemble experts from the research community and those in the non-scientific policy-forming sector involved in the primary production of agri-food and aquaculture products for which veterinary drugs are used. The goal was to provide a forum for the two groups to gain a better understanding of the underlying issues related to the practice of using these drugs in food animal production and how they impact both human health safety issues and global trade with the expectation that this would enable the development of a firm knowledge base for making sound risk assessment and risk management decisions. In addition, it was expected that the workshop would provide the required forum to assist and inform public debate on current and emerging challenges facing the agri-food industry to help increase face-to-face public debate/discussion between the scientists in the analytical community and experts involved in policy decision-making. In that regard, the workshop was designed to centre on seven themes. One of the papers submitted for publication consideration in this section Effective management tools for moving standards through the Codex Standard Setting Process at the CCRVDF, authored by Jack Kay, described how the CCRVDF develops codes of practice related to veterinary drugs and their associated residues in food of animal origin, agreeing priorities for the assessment of the safety of veterinary drugs by the Joint World Health Organization/Food and Agriculture Organization (WHO/FAO) of the United Nations Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), recommending maximum residue limits (MRLs) for veterinary drugs used in food animal production and considering sampling protocols and methods of analysis for veterinary drugs.1 The next two papers were submitted under Theme 2 – Chemical Residue and Contaminant Testing: Emerging and Alternate Technologies. In today's market economy, many nutritional and health studies recommend a higher consumption of fat composed of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), mainly n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids which are abundant in fatty fish the major natural dietary source of long chain n-3 fatty acids. Processors and producers are finding ways to increase the amount of n-3 fatty acids in animal feed by addition of linseed oil or fish oil as a way to increase human intake of those compounds through the consumption of food from animal origin other than fatty fish. Consequently, many products including meat, milk, eggs, and dairy products enriched with n-3 fatty acids can now be found in the market. Unfortunately, this practice can result in the rapid oxidation of these high polyunsaturated fatty acids to potentially cytotoxic and genotoxic aldehydes, including malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE), 4-hydroxy-2-hexenal (4-HHE), crotonaldehyde (CRT), benzaldehyde (BNZ), hexanal (HXL), 2,4-nonadienal and 2,4-decadienal. A 2011 safety assessment of MDA, crotonaldehyde and 4-HNE by the Belgian Superior Health Council concluded that these compounds were of major concern for human health. To protect consumers from ingesting potentially toxic compounds, a method authored by Douny et al.2 using the latest liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) platform technology was validated and used to characterize and measure these aldehydes in food or animal feed to establish their residue profile in consumer products whose labels claim to contain enriched fatty acids. In the second paper submitted under this theme, Akre and Mizuno3 demonstrated how difficult it is to develop a single method for the analysis and detection of natural and synthetic steroids, stilbenes, and resorcylic acid lactones in bovine urine despite recent advances made in the detection capabilities of current platform technologies such as gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Most laboratories conducting residue testing for monitoring drug use in the food animal population in support of regulatory requirements use multi-residue methods to increase laboratory efficiencies in sample analysis and to reduce the cost of operating those laboratories. Under Theme 3 – High Throughput Analysis in Labs and Food Production – Berendsen et al.4 presented results of a recent international collaborative laboratory study to revise and update the acceptance criteria for the characteristic operational parameters including retention times, ion ratios, etc., which were previously based on single analyte methods using vintage equipment, none of which is currently available in our regulatory laboratories. In this study, the authors assessed existing criteria in the light of currently applied methodologies and developed new evidence-based criteria applicable to modern and emerging analytical methods applied in the field of veterinary drug residue testing. Datasets were constructed from the analysis of in-house prepared homogeneous materials using relevant and state-of-the-art (front end) analytical instruments, combining chromatographic separation and mass spectrometric detection techniques. These datasets provided the basis for the proposed new/amended criteria. The amended criteria were then validated by a collaborative study employing in-house prepared homogeneous unknown test materials in collaboration with residue testing laboratories from all over the world, to ensure validity of the proposed criteria for confirmatory analysis. The results of this collaborative study will be presented to the next session of the CCRVDF which will meet in October 2016 in the USA to consider how it can incorporate the new acceptance criteria for mass spectrometric detection techniques into the Codex Criteria for the Performance of Analytical Methods Used in Regulatory Monitoring Programs. Urine samples obtained from food animals are used extensively in some regulatory programmes to screen for the presence/absence of veterinary drug residues and contaminants. In North America, regulatory decisions can only be made on analysis performed directly on the edible tissue (not urine) to demonstrate that the concentration of an approved veterinary drug detected in that particular food sample exceeds the MRL defined by the Competent Authority as safe for human consumption. Kaufmann5 reviewed the practice of using advanced analytical technologies like ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) for veterinary drug screening of animal urine where the MRLs of those compounds in organs like muscle, kidney, or liver have been exceeded. He discussed the limitations and possibilities of the technique drawing attention to the most critical point which is the variability of the drug concentration ratio between the tissue and urine and offered strategies to manage the potential for false positive and false negative results. Ramadan et al.6 described a validated LC-MS/MS method for the quantitative analysis and confirmation of 120 pesticide residues in apples and cucumbers based on the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) approach to sample extraction. The validated method has been used for over two years in the routine analysis of these matrices in Qatar's residue monitoring programme. Matus and Boison7 reported the development and validation of a liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QToF/MS) method for 17 anticoccidial drugs and ractopamine residues in animal tissues quail liver, bovine kidney, liver, muscle, chicken muscle, and horse muscle. The method which describes a short extraction time of 3 h and short chromatographic run times provides test results in 1 day for 24 samples and has been demonstrated to be suitable for the analysis of an additional 110 veterinary drugs including nitroimidazoles, NSAIDs, corticosteroids, hormones, steroids, β-agonists, tranquilizers, macrolides, desoxycarbadox, phenicols, endectocides, zeranols, estradiols, fluoroquinolones, and sulphonamides. Since food is extensively traded on the world market, it is imperative that all countries involved in global trade respect the basic tenet of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that countries engaged in global trade activities adopt the scientific, risk-based standards established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission that will facilitate trade rather than become barriers to trade. In that same vein, Codex has also recommended that all laboratories providing analytical support services to the residue control programme must be accredited to an international testing standard such the ISO/IEC 1705:2005 and that the methods used in support of that work must be validated in accordance with accepted criteria. Since the EU is a major trading partner in global trade, developments in food safety issues undertaken by the EU will usually have significant implications to the rest of the trading partners. So, under Theme 4 – International Harmonization of Analytical Methods and Processes – McEvoy8 reviewed past food and feed safety crises that have shaped the development of EU food law and showed that the current flexible regulatory framework and support mechanisms underpinning its operation means that the EU is now in a much stronger position to identify and address food and feed safety incidents and prevent their escalation into crises than was the case previously. On the basis of past experience, unexpected or unforeseen events are most likely to trigger food and feed safety crises. Consequently, preparedness for such events will require ongoing investment in active and passive surveillance systems allied with vigilance on the part of all of the players in the feed and food chains, effective communication, sharing of intelligence, and coordination of activities between the member states and the European institutions. Having all of these elements in place, whilst not guaranteeing that there will never be any further food/feed safety incidents in the EU, would nevertheless appear to offer the best hope of preventing the escalation of such incidents into crises. He concluded that in this respect the EU is well placed to face future challenges. Continuing on the theme of international harmonization, van Ginkel and Sterk9 reviewed the current laboratory network system in support of residue monitoring programmes within the EU which formally started in the early 1990s and noted with interest that since then it has evolved and incorporated new techniques and methods for quality assurance and is moving in parallel with the shift at the EU headquarters itself from production-based control to risk-based control. The paradigm shift from production-based to risk-based control now is foreseen in the EU laboratory operations which will have a significant impact on the type of methodologies to be used and subsequently also on the specific roles of EU reference laboratories. In this presentation, van Ginkel and Sterk project how the laboratory operations at the EU Reference Laboratories (EURLs) will look in years to come. With all the recent scandalous events in the UK on the detection of phenylbutazone residues in meat that had intentionally been contaminated with horse meat and not properly labelled, Decloedt et al.10 presented a paper in Theme 5 – “Sports Doping: First Past the Post before Veterinary Drug Abuse –Show Cows and Race Horses” to highlight a situation that might be construed to be cheating as a result of feeding the race horse with mouldy corn (poor feed quality) or a herbal phyto-supplement. In the race-horse industry, all substances that are not allowed to be used in treating a horse in competition including most anabolic-androgenic steroids are clearly listed and posted. As zero-tolerance regulation is enforced, a question arose if the consumption of mouldy corn feed could lead to the excretion of steroids, due to the biotransformation of plant phytosterols to steroids that would lead to the implication of cheating when these are detected in the race horse. The authors used a rapid UHPLC-MS/MS analytical method, previously validated according to the Association of Official Racing Chemists (AORC) and European Commission (EC) guidelines, to measure steroids in different sample types and found that mouldy corn can develop concentrations of up to 3.0 ± 0.4 µg/kg 4-androstenedione. An herbal phyto-supplement was also shown to contain α-testosterone. The authors strongly recommended caution against the consumption of any feed or (herbal) supplement of which the detailed ingredients and quantitative analysis are unknown. Boison et al.11 presented a study which showed that the recovery of phenylbutazone (PBZ) and oxyphenbutazone (OXPBZ) residues from equine tissues are improved with the addition of a β-glucuronidase enzyme hydrolysis step. In the absence of enzymatic hydrolysis, liver tissue obtained from the horse sacrificed 6 days post dose contained the highest concentration of PBZ followed by kidney and muscle. With the additional enzymatic hydrolysis step in the sample preparation procedure, the recovery of PBZ was elevated by about a factor of 1.3 in liver, 1.4 in kidney, and 4.7 times in muscle tissues. The concentration of OXPBZ residues was highest in the kidney followed by liver but it was below the limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method for muscle using their previously published method without enzymatic hydrolysis. The authors, therefore, strongly recommended that methods developed for the analysis of PBZ and its OXPBZ metabolite consider the inclusion of this enzyme hydrolysis step. Talking about the use and monitoring of antimicrobial use in food animals without the issue of antimicrobial resistance is almost impossible. All too often though, we as chemists think we are doing a very good job by being able to measure as low as possible of the residues in the food animal. The microbiologists also believe that they are doing a very good job identifying the end points for assessment of antimicrobial resistance and communicating that information that the development of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria and the human population is on the rise sometimes making claims that this could be contributed by the consumption of low levels of antimicrobials in the foods of animal origin that consumers are exposed to. What we haven't done well yet is for both teams to come together and develop strategies to look at the issue collectively. Also to be included in this exercise is the toxicologists and policy decision-makers. We were very fortunate at this Workshop to have all the relevant groups together. So, under Theme 6 – Antibiotics in the Environment, Food Chain, Aquatic and Food Animal Production: Is There a Link to Antibiotic Resistance? – Cerniglia et al.12 provided the workshop participants with the most current update of the concern that antimicrobial new animal drugs in or on animal-derived food products at residue-level concentrations could disrupt the colonization barrier and/or modify the antimicrobial resistance profile of human intestinal bacteria. Therapeutic doses of antimicrobial drugs have been shown to promote shifts in the intestinal microbiome, and these disruptions promote the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. To assess the effects of antimicrobial new animal drug residues in food on human intestinal bacteria, many national regulatory agencies and international committees follow a harmonized process, VICH GL36(R). The authors provide an overview of this current approach as part of the antimicrobial new animal drug approval process in participating countries, insights on the microbiological endpoints used in this safety evaluation, and the availability of new information. Daeseleire et al.13 describe some general aspects of antibiotic resistance such as microbiological versus clinical resistance, intrinsic versus acquired resistance, resistance mechanisms and transfer of resistance are briefly introduced and follow that with a description of a Belgian mission founded in 2012 to collect and analyze all data related to antibiotic use and resistance in animals in Belgium and to communicate these findings in a neutral and objective manner. One of the 10 objectives of the mission was to develop strategies that will result in a 50% reduction in antibiotic consumption in veterinary medicine in Belgium by 2020. The authors report on the achievements of this national project and described in detail the project undertaken by the Belgian Government in order to accomplish this mission. Fish and other aquatic organisms have become an increasingly important source of food for human consumption, and the practice of aquaculture is growing and evolving as is the need to develop safe and effective drugs for treating fish diseases. In order to control diseases and to improve production, farmers use various resources including veterinary drugs, vaccines, immune-stimulants, etc. The challenge of sustainable aquaculture is to contribute to the national objectives for economic development and food security while simultaneously addressing the goals of reducing poverty and increasing environmental protection. The industry has historically depended on the use of veterinary drugs, but in response to the increasing concerns of environmental sustainability and consumer preference for safe food, the sector has begun to realize the potential risk associated with the irresponsible use of these products. Many veterinary drugs are used in both the aquaculture and livestock industries, as well as being available in formulations suitable for human treatments. That the issues of antimicrobial use in food animal production are of global concern is well recognized. In Asian countries, it is common to find fish farms integrated with animal houses and agricultural land which could lead to environmental contamination via unintended residues of drugs or pesticides in foods leading to an increase in antimicrobial resistance. To minimize environmental contamination by the effective use of drugs for aquatic animals, it is important to understand the aquaculture system which includes the life cycle of the aquatic animal, feed, disease and the environment. The study of the fate of a drug in the environment can provide a lot of information which includes dissipation time, the identification of degradation or metabolic products by photolysis, hydrolysis, and microbial degradation, and the distribution related to adsorption onto sediment or soil. An understanding of the fate of veterinary drugs administered to fish in aquatic systems might aid in more effective prevention and treatment of diseases of aquatic animals, for environmental conservation and for food safety. Kwon14 describes a study that was conducted to investigate the fate of erythromycin and oxolinic acid in aquatic systems for the effective use of remedies, prevention of fish diseases and environmental conservation which reflect the marine and fresh water aquaculture systems in Korea. All veterinary drugs used in food animal production have to be subjected to extensive clinical trials and metabolism studies in a number of laboratory animals and the food animal prior to their being registered and licensed for use in food animal production. The studies that need to be completed in the process are very well laid out and in all the studies there is a requirement to use suitably sensitive methods for the studies being conducted. Under Theme 7 – Pharmacokinetics and Depletion Studies – Sanders et al.15 reviewed the general principles and methods for chemical risk assessment described in Environmental Health Criteria 240, Principles and methods for the risk assessment of chemicals in food approaches which the Joint WHO/FAO of the UN Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), follows to conduct risk assessments. Following a request from the CCRVDF, JECFA will assess veterinary drugs which are currently used under national marketing authorization or unregulated compounds which are used as a veterinary treatment (e.g. dyes). The authors described the different pharmacokinetic analysis tools used by JECFA to assess all compounds used as drugs referred to JECFA. Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) is a quality system concerned with the organizational process and the conditions under which non-clinical health and environmental safety studies are planned, performed, monitored, recorded, archived and reported. Croubels et al.16 describe the GLP principles applicable for veterinary drug registration and licensing purposes First, a general overview of the GLP requirements is given, followed by a more specific comparison and discussion of the analytical method validation parameters and acceptance criteria of different international guidelines applied in the context of veterinary drug pharmacokinetic and residue depletion studies. Finally, the authors identified some needs with respect to method validation and highlighted some new developments in pharmacokinetic and residue depletion studies. Boison17 described the role validated analytical methods play in the risk assessment evaluations conducted by JECFA and points out that the work of JECFA will never be complete without the availability of suitably validated analytical methods. In the final manuscript Boison et al.18 describe a method that was validated and used for the depletion study of tulathromycin residues in bison and deer sera as well as selected tissues of white-tailed deer.

ABSTRACTA priority of the European Union is the control of risks possibly associated with chemical contaminants in food and undesirable substances in feed. Following an initial chapter describing the main contaminants detected in food and undesirable substances in feed in the EU, their main sources and the factors which affect their occurrence, the present review focuses on the “continous call for data” procedure that is a very effective system in place at EFSA to make possible the exposure assessment of specific contaminants and undesirable substances. Risk assessment of contaminants in food atances in feed is carried currently in the European Union by the CONTAM Panel of EFSA according to well defined methodologies and in collaboration with competent international organizations and with Member States.

Organic Food Conclusions Don’t Tell the Whole Story

Ensuring Safe Food for Infants: The Importance of an Integrated Approach to Monitor and Reduce the Risks of Biological, Chemical, and Physical Hazards

Food supply and food safety issues in China

A variety of chemicals may enter our food supply, by means of intentional or unintentional addition, at different stages of the food chain. These chemicals include food additives, pesticide residues, environmental contaminants, mycotoxins, flavoring substances, and micronutrients. Packaging systems and other foodcontact materials are also a source of chemicals contaminating food products and beverages. Monitoring exposure to these chemicals has become an integral part of ensuring the safety of the food supply. Within the context of the risk analysis approach and more specifically as an integral part of risk assessment procedures, the exercise known as exposure assessment is crucial in providing data to allow sound judgments concerning risks to human health. The exercise of obtaining this data is part of the process of revealing sources of contamination and assessing the effectiveness of strategies for minimizing the risk from chemical contamination in the food supply (Lambe, 2002) . Human exposure to chemicals from food packaging and other food-contacting materials may occur as a result of migration from the packaging materials into the foods and beverages. The extent of migration and the inherent toxicity of the substance in question are the two factors which define the human health risk represented by packaging materials. In a formal risk analysis context the key components to be considered in a risk assessment of a packaging material are (1) chemistry and concentration data of the substance (exposure assessment) and (2) toxicology data (hazard characterization). In exposure assessment the use and the intended technical effect of the substance in packaging must be identified, the analytical methods for detection and/or quantification of the substance in the foods and in the packaging itself must be identified and implemented, and data for migration from packaging into foods and an evaluation of the consumer food intake must be collected. The hazard characterization component includes toxicology studies and the effects of different levels on

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, almost the only analyses carried out for chemical contaminants in foods were for lead arsenate and other arsenical pesticides in fruits. Since then, a tremendous expansion has occurred in the types of chemical contaminants found in foods and in the activities of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other organizations responsible for monitoring and controlling the presence of these contaminants in the food supply. This paper describes the findings and control of additional chemical contaminants in foods, including synthetic pesticides, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), other industrial chemicals, fungal metabolites such as aflatoxins, toxic metals, and radionuclides. The common characteristics of problems connected with these different types of contaminants include uncontrolled entry into the food supply, incidents causing extreme public worry, and near impossibility in removing these contaminants from the food supply. Problems may also arise from new technologies and environmental developments. New approaches beyond ordinary regulatory activities are being used to meet these problems. Broader analytical methods requiring less time and faster and more sophisticated toxicological methods are needed to assess the hazard of these environmental food contaminants.

FDA Risk Assessment of Seafood Contamination after the BP Oil Spill: Rotkin-Ellman and Solomon Respond

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is an analytical separation and diagnostic technique that is simple and sensitive and a rapid response and low-priced technique for detecting trace levels of chemical compounds in different matrices. Chemical agents and environmental contaminants are successfully detected by IMS and have been recently considered to employ in food safety. In addition, IMS uses stand-alone or coupled analytical diagnostic tools with chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. Scientific publications show that IMS has been applied 21% in the pharmaceutical industry, 9% in environmental studies and 13% in quality control and food safety. Nevertheless, applications of IMS in food safety and quality analysis have not been adequately explored. This review presents the IMS-related analysis and focuses on the application of IMS in food safety and quality. This review presents the important topics including detection of traces of chemicals, rate of food spoilage and freshness, food adulteration and authenticity as well as natural toxins, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, veterinary, and growth promoter drug residues. Further, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), acrylamide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), biogenic amines, nitrosamine, furfural, phenolic compounds, heavy metals, food packaging materials, melamine, and food additives were also examined for the first time. Therefore, it is logical to predict that the application of the IMS technique in food safety, food quality, and contaminant analysis will be impressively increased in the future. Highlights Current status of IMS for residues and contaminant detection in food safety. To assess all the detected contaminants in food safety, for the first time. Identified IMS-related parameters and chemical compounds in food safety control.

Engineering nanomaterials-based biosensors for food safety detection

Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in the analysis of chemical food contaminants in food