OpenFoodTox, the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) online database on the toxicity of chemicals in the food chain, has been updated, EFSA announced on 27 March. This one-click tool now includes toxicity data for nearly 5,000 chemicals from over 2,000 scientific assessments carried out by EFSA since 2002.
More than 150 substances considered in 200 additional scientific assessments have been added in this update.
Created in 2017 to provide a single access point to synthesised data on chemicals evaluated by EFSA, OpenFoodTox covers a wide range of chemicals (pesticides, food additives and nutrient sources added to food, flavourings, natural and man-made contaminants) present in both food and feed (see EUROPE 11708/31).
In particular, it enables scientists to develop new in silico computer models to predict the toxicity of substances in food and feed. Using modelling, they can, for example, without the need for animal testing, predict the toxicity of a substance to rats - as part of the human risk assessment - or the toxicity of a substance to bees, fish or earthworms as part of the environmental risk assessment, EFSA points out. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)