Safety and fate of nanomaterials in food: The role of in vitro tests

Abstract

BackgroundThe use of nanomaterials in the food and feed chain is expected to keep increasing in the years to come. While this brings exciting prospects to both industry and consumers, it also entails important considerations regarding their risk assessment and potential detrimental effects following human exposure. Aiming to standardise the risk assessment of nanomaterials, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has recently published a new guidance where in vitro tests are indicated to play a key role. Scope and approachHere, we summarise the latest EFSA guidance aiming to bring it to a wider readership. Recent examples from the literature are critically reviewed regarding their adherence to the recommended methods, thus providing a basis for read-across justifications in future studies. This paper also looks into emerging technologies that may accelerate the development and approval of novel nanomaterials in food while reducing the need of animal studies. Key findings and conclusionsFew publications cover the extensive list of in vitro studies and parameters recommended by the EFSA. Nevertheless, some address specific sections (e.g. physicochemical characterisation or cytotoxicity) in a very comprehensive manner and we expect this review to contribute towards a better understanding of the importance of following a methodical approach in the risk assessment of novel nanomaterials in food. Lastly, emerging organ-on-chip technologies may arise as impactful tools to run toxicokinetics studies at high-throughput and with significant in vitro-in vivo correlation.