Database of Food Chemical Hazards Expanded

EFSA’s OpenFoodTox database on chemical hazards now includes data on over 4,750 chemical substances following the addition of 321 substances. The database is also more accessible now thanks to an improved interface with more features for exploring the data.

The new version of the database also updates over 1,816 health based guidance values (e.g. acceptable and tolerable daily intakes). The data has been extracted from an additional 132 EFSA assessments in areas such as pesticides, contaminants, food ingredients, food and feed additives.

OpenFoodTox provides summary toxicological data used by EFSA for the setting of safe levels (reference points and reference values) of food and feed chemicals in humans, animals and the environment since EFSA’s creation in 2002. Since the database was first published in 2017, several key computer models have been developed for predicting toxicity of substance found in food and feed. Such tools can help to provide methods for risk assessment as alternatives to traditional toxicity studies using animals.

EFSA recently held a call for tenders to support the maintenance and further development of OpenFoodTox database over the coming years. The new features will include physico-chemical properties, toxicokinetic data, summary of exposure estimates and predicted toxicity values from in silico models for a range of properties.

This article has been republished from materials provided by the European Food Safety Authority. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

Links

OpenFoodTox access via EFSA’s Data Warehouse

Download OpenFoodTox via EFSA’s Knowledge Junction