OPERATIONAL RESEARCH VISION
The Committee promotes a science-based determination of the chemical safety of foods to support the advancement of public health.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS
Threshold of Toxicological Concern
The Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) is the basis of a practical approach for safety assessment of chemicals for which there are scant toxicological data, and has great potential for evaluating many of the chemicals occurring in our foods and in the environment. Due to ever-improving analytical capabilities, very low levels of unexpected chemicals can now be detected in foods. Although these may be toxicologically insignificant, such incidents often garner significant attention. Ongoing TTC-related projects are as follows.
Prioritizing Responses to Unintended Chemicals in Food
The committee has presented a TTC-based approach as a tool for prioritization of responses to unintended chemicals in foods. This article, titled “Refining the Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) for Risk Prioritization of Trace Chemicals in Food,” was published in Food and Chemical Toxicology in 2009.
Application of TTC in Food Safety
"Determining the Applicability of Threshold of Toxicological Concern Approaches to Substances Found in Foods”, was accepted by Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition in November 2012. to be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal on the application of TTC in food safety. The article will explore criteria to ensure appropriate application of the TTC where valid, and discourage its use in other cases.
Heavy Metals
The committee is exploring the development of a heavy metal acceptance tool for raw material ingredients that are used in the production of food products. The heavy metals of interest are arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury The Committee prioritized the development of a heavy metal screening tool to provide additional context of risk to exposure of five heavy metals found in raw food ingredients. It is important to note, this tool is only one part of a comprehensive decision making process. A manuscript including case studies will provide an approach for a constructive dialogue around exposure assessment of heavy metals.
Nanotechnology
The committee addressed the importance of this emerging issue by collaborating with the Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) Expert Group on Nanotechnology. The FDA and National Characterization Laboratory served as liaisons for this effort. The goal was to increase understanding of the safety of nano-scale materials and its potential use in food-related applications. The Committee’s engagement on nanotechnology is through support of the ILSI Research Foundation’s NanoRelease Food Additive Project, a collaborative public-private partnership. Members of the Committee serve on task groups as part of this project. A “Workshop on Measurement Methods for the Release of Engineered Nanomaterials from Food and Absorption by the Body” was held in December
The following three publications resulted from this initiative:
Letter to the Editor: Proposed Minimum Characterization Parameters for Studies on Food and Food-Related Nanomaterials, A Method to Assess the Quality of Studies That Examine the Toxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials, and An Appraisal of the Published Literature on the Safety and Toxicity of Food-related Nanomaterials.
Fellowship in Food Toxicology
Since 2009, the committee has sponsored a summer fellowship project related to an emerging issue in the field. Currently, the committee is discussing potential areas of focus for the 2012 summer food toxicology fellow.
The ILSI North America Technical Committee on Food and Chemical Safety has welcomed Summer Fellow, Agnes Forgacs, doctoral candidate from Michigan State University, to our offices. Ms. Forgacs’s work will evaluate the impact of the Tox21 high-throughput screening program on the food industry.
EVENTS
The Science Thresholds Presentation Weight of Evidence (WoE) Workshop
An invitation only workshop, Weight of Evidence, will be held following the 2013 ILSI Annual Meeting. The goal of the workshop is to gain insight into how in silico and high-throughput screening data are currently used in WoE evaluations and how they can be applied in food safety assessments.
PUBLICATIONS
- Determining the Applicability of Threshold of Toxicological Concern Approaches to Substances Found in Foods
- Meta-Analysis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
- An Appraisal of the Published Literature on the Safety and Toxicity of Nanomaterials
- A Method to Assess the Quality of Studies That Examine the Toxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials
- Threshold Dose for Peanut: Risk Characterization Based Upon Diagnostic Oral Challenge of a Series of 286 Peanut-Allergic Individuals
- Letter to the Editor: Proposed Minimum Characterization Parameters for Studies on Food and Food-Related Nanomaterials
- Refining the Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) for Risk Prioritization of Trace Chemicals in Food
- Kinetic and Mechanistic Data for a Human Physiologically Bases Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) Model for Acrylamide
- Human Exposure and Internal Dose Assessments of Acrylamide in Food
- Smith GW, Constable PD, Fredrickson RL, Tumbleson ME, Eppley RM, Haschek WM. 2004. Cardiovascular effects of chronic fumonisin B1 ingestion in Sinclair minipigs. Tox Sci 78(1S): Abs 828
- Smith GW, Haschek WM, Fredrickson RL, Tumbleson ME, Eppley RM, James J, Constable PD. 2004. Effect of fumonisin B1 ingestion on serum folate, homocyteine, and methionine concentrations in Sinclair minipigs. Experimental Biology, Abs. 8456, APS – American Physiological Soc. Topic 1009 – APS Blood pressure regulation (Cardiovascular Section Posters)
- Overview of Acrylamide Toxicity and Metabolism
- Constable PD, Smith GW, Eppley RM, Tumbleson ME. 2002. Serum biochemical and lipid changes in Sinclair minipigs fed low levels of fumonisin B1 for six months. Tox Sci 66 (1-S):7 (Abs 34)
- Fredrickson RL, Constable PD, Smith GW, Tumbleson ME, Eppley RM, Haschek WM. 2002. Sphingolipid changes and pathology in Sinclair minipigs fed low levels of fumonisin B1 for six months. Tox Sci 66 (1-S):7 (Abs 35)
- Rat Kidney Pathology Induced by Chronic Exposure to Fumonisin B1 Includes Rare Variants of Renal Tubule Tumor
- Implications of Apoptosis for Toxicity, Carcinogenicity, and Risk Assessment: Fumonism B1 as an Example
- Proceedings From the ILSI North America International Conference on the Toxicology of Fumonism
- Proceedings From the Workshop on Biological and Chemical Agents of Bioterrorism in Food
- ILSI North America Monograph: Human Diet and Endocrine Modulation