Toxicity Data on Chemicals Found in Food Now Available on EFSA Website

A new database of chemical substances evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is accessible on the EFSA’s website. This Chemical Hazards Database, OpenFoodTox, provides information on risk assessments conducted by the EFSA on more than 4,000 substances in over 1,650 Scientific Opinions, Statements, and Conclusions. Previously, it was necessary to access the individual opinions, statements or conclusions to locate this information.

The OpenFoodTox database provides a summary of the human health, animal health, and ecological hazard assessments on these substances.  More specifically, it includes open source data for substance characterization, links to relevant EFSA assessments, background regulations, and summaries of critical toxicological endpoints and reference values. It includes information on substances ranging from pesticides and food and feed additives to both natural and man-made contaminants and food-contact materials. The database took more than five years to compile.