Report on map and gap analysis of procedures and enforcement and guidance documents for FSAs – input for FSOLab1
Creators: name: Luning, Pieternel
name: Van Der Linden, Niels
name: Celine Meerpoel
name: De Saeger, Sarah
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Food safety

description: Deliverable report 3.1 describes the findings on the map and gap analysis of legal procedures and enforcement-related issues of emerging/ unregulated issues that served as input for the Food Safety Operation lab1 (FSOLab1) (Task 3.1). The approach to the map and gap analysis is described as a guide for food safety authorities to conduct similar research for other food safety issues. Two circularity-related food safety issues were selected as model case studies based on an explorative literature search and expert interviews with food safety authorities (FSA). Mycotoxins were selected because of the increase and reoccurrence of mycotoxins due to climate changes and the circular economy with local feed production as one of the implications. Recycled food contact materials were selected as the second food safety issue as many challenges are foreseen in all steps in risk assessment i.e., hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment, and risk characterisation. Recycling food contact materials can result in contamination with non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) that can be hazardous. Ambiguity about the effects of multiple hazardous compounds on human health and uncertainty about the presence of (unknown) hazardous substances complicate the risk assessment. The current risk assessment procedures do not yet seem adequate to cope with these challenges and/or procedures are not yet harmonized. In-depth expert interviews were conducted with thirty different representatives from nineteen food safety authorities/institutes involved in risk analysis from eleven European countries (Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and United Kingdom. Also, interviewees from Ukraine and Tunisia participated). They all had comprehensive expertise in various risk analysis activities and insights into emerging/unregulated food safety issues typical for their country or Europe in general. They provided initial insights into past, current, recurring, and future food safety issues and indicated various gaps in current risk analysis with specific attention to legal procedures and enforcement-related issues. A wide range of food safety issues was mentioned including, among others, common recurring microbial issues with Salmonella, the past issue of Fipronil in eggs, the current issue of labelling fraud with strawberries, and the future issue of mycotoxin prevalence and the recycling of food contact materials. Typical gaps in risk assessment mentioned by experts included e.g., the lack of data available for multi-compound risk assessment, the lack of toxicity data, and the lack of data on specific diets such as vegetarian. Various experts confirmed the (re-)occurrence of mycotoxins because of climate change as an important point of attention. Also, food safety issues (e.g. NIAS) associated with recycled food contact materials inherent to the circular economy were confirmed by the experts as emerging food safety issues implying challenges in risk analysis. For this work package, the focus was on risk assessment and risk management, as risk communication is the main task for work package 5. The survey was designed to get insight into geographical differences and to explore potential needs for harmonization or integration of risk assessment and management related to the two selected food safety issues. The survey was expanded with topics about the expected impact of the circularity-related food safety issues, such as on enforcement practices, organizational structure, stakeholder relations, etc. to serve as input for the pilot action developed in FSOLab1 for recycled food contact materials. The deliverable report serves as a detailed guidance document to assist food safety authorities in performing similar research for other unregulated/emerging food safety issues. All activities have been presented in a flowchart. pag. 9 Finally, the FSOLab1 used the two defined circularity-related food safety issues (reoccurring mycotoxins and recycled food packaging) and initially identified challenges in risk assessment and management as the starting point for the development of pilot actions.
description: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)