A Risk-based Strategy for Controlling Chemical Contaminants as Relevant Hazards in Food Ingredients

摘要

The global sourcing of ingredients and distribution of products has dramatically increased over the past decade and so have challenges of food safety. While regulatory values for chemical contaminants can be a guide, formulating a comprehensive program to address chemical contaminants can be complex because of differences in priorities between regulatory agencies. Factors such as the source of contamination, the origin of ingredients, production of contaminants through manufacturing processes and adulteration of food for economic purposes, necessitate considerable effort to control contaminants. Establishing criteria that use scientific principles could be the basis for development of a risk-based program to manage chemical contaminants in ingredients. This would allow for compliance to global regulatory requirements and ensure the production of safe products. Therefore, this paper outlines the use of scientific principles to define the criteria associated with the severity of toxicity caused by chemical contaminants and the probability that a chemical contaminant would be present. Furthermore,the application of science-based criteria to generate rationalized target lists of chemical contaminants specific to ingredient categories can guide the development of analytical methods critical for the control of chemical contaminants. Fundamentally, this is the first publication of its kind that provides a science-based approach that can serve as an assessment tool to measure, modify and improve management strategies for chemical contaminants in food ingredients and ultimately ensure food safety andregulatory compliance.