Tara flour as a cause of illness and the relevance of Bacillus cytotoxicus as a foodborne pathogen are examples of emerging chemical risks discussed recently in Europe.
It is thought that baikiain in tara flour was responsible for around 470 illnesses reported in the U.S. since June 2022. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared that tara flour in human food does not meet the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) standard and is an unapproved food additive.
The flour was implicated in Daily Harvest French Lentil + Leek Crumbles and Revive Superfoods’ Mango & Pineapple Smoothies. Smirk’s sourced tara flour from Molinos Asociados in Peru.
EU experts said that although further information is needed, available evidence indicates an emerging risk. The finding is part of a report that gives an overview of the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) activities related to emerging chemicals in 2020 to 2023.
Bacillus cytotoxics has been found in potato flakes and potato starch and also in insect-based foods. It is part of the Bacillus cereus group. Some members of this group can cause two forms of foodborne illness, such as diarrheal syndrome, which is linked to three enterotoxins, and emetic syndrome, which is caused by cereulide toxin.
Examples of emerging risks and projects
Member states and stakeholders in the EFSA networks for emerging risks, such as the Emerging Risks Exchange Network (EREN) and the Stakeholder Discussion Group on Emerging Risks, identified and analyzed several chemical issues according to the EFSA definition of emerging risks and characterization criteria.
These networks discussed a range of issues from 2020 to 2023, including Brevetoxins in French shellfish, alcohol replacement drinks and a synthetic compound called albarello, and the decreased use of pesticides and fertilizers, which led to an increase in jimsonweed (Datura stramonium), which contains a tropane alkaloid.
Experts said more information was needed to characterize several topics. Examples are Hypoglycin A in cow milk, imported Asian morels, a correlation between the contamination of sesame seeds with Salmonella and the EU regulation on ethylene oxide, and potential allergies in insect products.
Various projects have also been conducted to identify emerging chemical issues using a range of methodologies and tools, such as text and data mining or foresight and chemical analysis.
These include the EuroCigua projects on Ciguatoxins, the climate change, and emerging risks for food safety (CLEFSA) project, and a project on food and feed safety vulnerabilities in the circular economy.
Opportunities and threats
Emerging chemical risks may arise from intentional or unintentional contamination of the food chain, either by humans or natural chemicals. They may also result from changes in the composition of food items or environmental matrices.
“Identifying emerging chemicals is challenging due to the scarce existing information on the hazard they pose and their occurrence in food, feed, and environmental compartments. In addition, detection and quantification methods are not developed for most of them,” according to the report.
Examples of drivers include population growth, globalization, resource and energy scarcity, slowing agricultural productivity, price volatility, changing diet trends, and waste crisis.
Ongoing policy developments are related to setting up an early warning system for emerging chemicals.
The report listed a number of opportunities, such as improving the use of big data and machine learning to identify emerging chemicals, enhancing the horizon scanning capacity through collaboration with wider audiences, and optimizing the exchange of information on emerging chemicals.
Identified threats included the increasing complexity of food supply chains and a lack of trust between stakeholders regarding data sharing.
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