The mission of this task force is to contribute to the understanding of the risks to human health and the environment that result from food production and food processing, and to promote best practices to manage these risks. It addresses scientific issues related to the assessment and control of the agricultural and industrial impact on the environment and promotes the sustainable use of natural resources.

 

This task force has initiated a very topical activity that aims to provide recommendations for safety evaluation of food crops for non-food use.

The current activity on ‘Sustainable Water Management for Crops’ addresses relevant issues related to the actual water demands and future perspectives in the terms of water availability.

The task force produced a number of publications related to the use and quality of water, involving close collaboration with experts from WHO.                                                                                                                                                                        

Activities

 

Food companies are under increasing pressure to operate more sustainably and the two major areas that are coming under scrutiny are water and energy. Water footprint is becoming important due to the increasing demand of water as a consequence of population pressures that are creating water stress in a number of areas. As a consequence there is raising pressure on food suppliers and processors to manage their water use and to minimise their water footprint. This is being addressed to varying degrees by different companies and there is increasing recognition that sustainability has the potential to be a significant factor in maintaining brand reputation.

 

Therefore, there is a need for a more comprehensive framework that considers each stage of food production from farm to fork with regard to water sustainability and with notice also taken of carbon footprint. Such a framework would identify the pitfalls and benefits at each stage and provide an overview/synthesis of the quality standards that exist and where there may be a need for standards in the future.

 

Starch, sugars and oils derived from food crops have been used for non-food applications for centuries. Technical advances, along with developments in breeding techniques and plant biotechnology have led to increased opportunities and potential for the use of food crops for non-food uses (FCNFU).

Currently large volumes of oilseed rape, palm and soya oil are being used for biodiesel production globally. Similarly, maize, cereal and sugar crops are being widely used for bio-ethanol production. The same cultivars are typically used for food, feed or fuel applications.

Conventional breeding has led to the development of food crops with enhanced metabolic profiles, improving their suitability for industrial uses. Examples include potato varieties with high starch content for industrial production and oilseed rape containing elevated levels of erucic acid (High Erucic Acid Rapeseed - HEAR) destined for the industrial production of erucamide (used as a slip agent in the plastics industry).

The development of genetically modified (GM) technologies has the potential to give rise to countless developments in this sector. For example, a GM potato variety is currently being evaluated for use in the industrial starch sector; maize crops have also been modified to express high levels of starch amylase enzymes to reduce the cost of enzymes in starch fermentation to ethanol. Theoretically, a wide range of modified food crops could be developed.

For a range of example FCNFU (both real and theoretical) potential hazards associated with the crop itself or its management were identified. Points at each stage of the food and feed supply chain where unintended commingling could occur were identified. The ability of current European legislation and industry methods in place to deal with the related identified risks were evaluated. In addition, procedures for approval and release of both conventionally and GM-bred FCNFU were reviewed to examine how these addressed the potential related risks to the food and feed chain and the requirements placed on developing risk management procedures.

The terms of reference for this review include consideration of pathways of unintended commingling, and the risks (assuming there is an identified hazard) this may present to neighbouring or subsequent food crops following cultivation of FCNFU, plus potential food chain hazards arising from various unintended commingling risks, including potential mixture with food crops or crop by-products during storage, transport and processing.

This review does not consider risks to the environment, gene flow, worker exposure or risks associated with unintended consumption of the crop in the field by animals or humans. In the case of traits introduced by GM, such risks are addressed through legislation granting approval to cultivate GM crops.

This work complements work by EFSA to assess risks associated with the development of genetically modified plants for non-food uses , and the European Medical Agency (EMA) in developing procedures to deal with the use of higher plants to produce active substances for pharmaceutical use.

The outcomes of the activity were published as ILSI Europe Report Series in spring 2011.

 

Many parts of the world are considered to be water stressed through a combination of decreasing reliability in rainfall and growing population. Agriculture is one of the biggest users of water and it is important to ensure that water for food production is used efficiently and sustainably.

Most work on agricultural water use has focussed on cereal crops such as wheat, rice and maize but there is a need to consider how other crops can be sustainably sourced. Vegetable oil crops are an important agricultural commodity and were chosen as a model for assessing how to judge water sustainability for internationally sourced crops and vegetable products. The main aim of this expert group was to evaluate globally grown oil crops in terms of rain and irrigated water use.

Several data sources and models were used to determine the water status for production of sunflower, rapeseed, groundnut, soybean and palm oil. The concept of green water (rainfall) and blue water (water from rivers and groundwater) was incorporated in order to make the distinction between rainfed production, production relying on irrigation and production that is a combination of the two. Data were available for all of the crops except palm oil.

The approach used was based on quantifying the effect of water limitation on crop yield by estimating soil water availability, crop water use and crop water requirements. Water availability was conceived as the amount originating from rainfall and stored in the rooted soil. The objective of the study was to estimate crop water requirements and actual water use in relation to crop yield for the selected oil crops.

The results of this study show that there are considerable differences in the green and blue water requirements of the different oil crops for different regions. The differences were the highest for soybean where in some countries twice as much water per unit of crop area is used compared to the lowest water using countries, while in terms of water productivity the differences are even larger. The differences in water use are mostly due to differences in the local climate. In warm and dry climates the blue water use is much higher than in temperate climates with high rainfall.

The outcomes of the activity will be published in the ILSI Europe Report Series in spring 2011.

Task Force Collaborators

 

 

 

* Observer

After completion of its activities and publication of the results, this expert group was disbanded on June 2011

 

F. Ludwig, H. Biemans, et al. Water Use of Oil Crops:current water use and future outlooks. ILSI Europe Series 2011: 1- 38.

D. Turley, I. Brants, et al. Evaluation of the risks posed in Europe by unintended mixing of food crops developed for food uses and food crops developed for non-food uses. ILSI Europe Report Series 2011: 1-28.

ILSI Europe Expert Group on Water Safety. Considering Water Quality for Use in the Food Industry. ILSI Europe Report Series 2008:1-44.

D. Schowanek, H. David et al. Probabilistic Risk Assessment for Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate (LAS) in Sewage Sludge Used on Agricultural Soil. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 2007;49:245-259.

D. Schowanek, R. Carr, et al. A Risk-Based Methodology for Deriving Quality Standards for Organic Contaminants in Sewage Sludge for Use in Agriculture – conceptual Framework. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 2004;40(3):227-251.

M. Hofer and L. Shuker. Assessing Health Risks from Environmental Exposure to Chemicals: The Example of Drinking Water. ILSI Europe Report Series 2002:1-23.

P. Calow et al., Guest Editors. Assessing and Controlling Industrial Impacts on the Aquatic Environment (with Reference to Food Processing). Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 2001;50(2):87-159. (Proceedings)

J. Solbé. Assessing and Controlling Industrial Impacts on the Aquatic Environment with Reference to Food Processing. ILSI Europe Report Series 2001:1-28. (Report)

D. Benford. Principles of Risk Assessment of Food and Drinking Water Related to Human Health. ILSI Europe Concise Monograph Series 2001:1-34.

G. Eisenbrand et al., Guest Editors. Assessing Health Risks from Environmental Exposure to Chemicals: the Example of Drinking Water. Food and Chemical Toxicology 2000;38(1):1-110. (Proceedings)

To download the poster of the task force, click here.

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