TY - JOUR
T1 - Update of the risk assessment of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs) in food
AU - EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM)
A2 - Schrenk, Dieter
A2 - Bignami, Margherita
A2 - Bodin, Laurent
A2 - Chipman, James Kevin
A2 - del Mazo, Jesús
A2 - Grasl‐Kraupp, Bettina
A2 - Hogstrand, Christer
A2 - Hoogenboom, Laurentius (Ron)
A2 - Leblanc, Jean-Charles
A2 - Nebbia, Carlo Stefano
A2 - Nielsen, Elsa
A2 - Ntzani, Evangelia
A2 - Petersen, Annette
A2 - Sand, Salomon
A2 - Schwerdtle, Tanja
A2 - Wallace, Heather
A2 - Benford, Diane
A2 - Fürst, Peter
A2 - Rose, Martin
A2 - Ioannidou, Sofia
A2 - Nikolič, Marina
A2 - Bordajandi, Luisa Ramos
A2 - Vleminckx, Christiane
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The European Commission asked EFSA to update its 2011 risk assessment on hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs) in food. HBCDDs, predominantly mixtures of the stereoisomers α-, β- and γ-HBCDD, were widely used additive flame retardants. Concern has been raised because of the occurrence of HBCDDs in the environment, food and in humans. Main targets for toxicity are neurodevelopment, the liver, thyroid hormone homeostasis and the reproductive and immune systems. The CONTAM Panel concluded that the neurodevelopmental effects on behaviour in mice can be considered the critical effects. Based on effects on spontaneous behaviour in mice, the Panel identified a lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) of 0.9 mg/kg body weight (bw) as the Reference Point, corresponding to a body burden of 0.75 mg/kg bw. The chronic intake that would lead to the same body burden in humans was calculated to be 2.35 μg/kg bw per day. The derivation of a health-based guidance value (HBGV) was not considered appropriate. Instead, the margin of exposure (MOE) approach was applied to assess possible health concerns. Over 6,000 analytical results for HBCDDs in food were used to estimate the exposure across dietary surveys and age groups of the European population. The most important contributors to the chronic dietary LB exposure to HBCDDs were fish meat, eggs, livestock meat and poultry. The CONTAM Panel concluded that the resulting MOE values support the conclusion that current dietary exposure to HBCDDs across European countries does not raise a health concern. An exception is breastfed infants with high milk consumption, for which the lowest MOE values may raise a health concern.
AB - The European Commission asked EFSA to update its 2011 risk assessment on hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs) in food. HBCDDs, predominantly mixtures of the stereoisomers α-, β- and γ-HBCDD, were widely used additive flame retardants. Concern has been raised because of the occurrence of HBCDDs in the environment, food and in humans. Main targets for toxicity are neurodevelopment, the liver, thyroid hormone homeostasis and the reproductive and immune systems. The CONTAM Panel concluded that the neurodevelopmental effects on behaviour in mice can be considered the critical effects. Based on effects on spontaneous behaviour in mice, the Panel identified a lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) of 0.9 mg/kg body weight (bw) as the Reference Point, corresponding to a body burden of 0.75 mg/kg bw. The chronic intake that would lead to the same body burden in humans was calculated to be 2.35 μg/kg bw per day. The derivation of a health-based guidance value (HBGV) was not considered appropriate. Instead, the margin of exposure (MOE) approach was applied to assess possible health concerns. Over 6,000 analytical results for HBCDDs in food were used to estimate the exposure across dietary surveys and age groups of the European population. The most important contributors to the chronic dietary LB exposure to HBCDDs were fish meat, eggs, livestock meat and poultry. The CONTAM Panel concluded that the resulting MOE values support the conclusion that current dietary exposure to HBCDDs across European countries does not raise a health concern. An exception is breastfed infants with high milk consumption, for which the lowest MOE values may raise a health concern.
KW - Hexabromocyclododecanes
KW - HBCDDs
KW - Occurrence
KW - Food
KW - Toxicology
KW - Human exposure
KW - Risk assessment
U2 - 10.2903/j.efsa.2021.6421
DO - 10.2903/j.efsa.2021.6421
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 33732387
SN - 1831-4732
VL - 19
JO - EFSA Journal
JF - EFSA Journal
IS - 3
M1 - e06421
ER -