A Practical Example of Risk Assessment – Risk Assessment to Phycotoxins in a Recreational Shellfish Harvester’s Subpopulation

International audienceA practical example of risk assessment of phycotoxins due to shellfish consumption is put forward, following a standard framework, with a particular focus on exposure assessment. This enabled us to characterize risk and identify data insufficiencies for a full risk assessment. The first part explains the risk assessment paradigm. The second and the third parts provide general and toxicological data on phycotoxins (hazard identification and hazard characterization). The third part describes the conducted exposure assessment (results of shellfish -contamination and -consumption data in our studies). Lastly, in the fourth part, both acute and chronic risks of phycotoxin exposure are characterized according to these results

Exposure assessment of pregnant women to cosmetic products.

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Probabilistic cutaneous exposure assessment to Bisphenol A by an at-risk subpopulation (cashiers)

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A Preliminary Risk Assessment of Human Exposure to Phycotoxins in Shellfish: A Review

International audienceOver the past few decades, phycotoxins, secondary metabolites produced by toxic phytoplankton, have seen an increase in their frequency, concentrations, and geographic distribution. As shellfish accumulate phycotoxins making them unfit for human consumption, they are considered as an important food safety issue. Thus, a consumer exposure assessment on phycotoxins is necessary. Exposure assessment requires two types of information: contamination and consumption data. Shellfish contamination data on major toxins encountered by at-risk populations (Domoic Acid group, Okadaic Acid group, and Saxitoxin group) have been reviewed. Consumption data have been reviewed for both general and potential high-consumer populations. Then, we undertook acute and chronic exposure assessments, combining available French contamination data and our own consumption data. Studies including exposure assessment were then reviewed. Lastly, risk characterization was undertaken. It can be concluded that both acute and chronic exposure to phycotoxins via shellfish consumption is a matter of concern, mainly for high consumers identified in this review (specific populations and shellfish harvesters). However, the results for risk characterization must be improved. There is a need for (i) toxicological data to establish a Tolerable Daily Intake; (ii) an assessment of consumption and contamination data, undertaken at the same time, so as to assess exposure

Probabilistic cutaneous exposure assessment to Bisphenol A by an at-risk subpopulation (cashiers)

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Grands consommateurs de fruits de mer : cas particulier des pêcheurs à pied récréatifs dans le Finistère

National audienceCe travail fournit l'ensemble des données de consommation de fruits de mer nécessaires à une évaluation des bénéfices et/ou des risques liés à ces denrées, pour une population potentiellement forte consommatrice : les pêcheurs à pied. Le pêcheur à pied " type " du Finistère est un homme, de plus de 60ans, marié, à la retraite, vivant dans le Finistère et consommant sa pêche. Concernant la consommation de produits exclusivement issus de leur pêche, ils en consomment environ trois fois par mois ; les huîtres et les moules sont les espèces consommées en plus grande quantité ; les coques et les palourdes sont quant à elles consommées par le plus grand nombre ; et la consommation journalière est estimée à 11,6g par personne par jour. En ajoutant les produits achetés, il ressort qu'ils en consomment environ sept fois par mois ; que les espèces consommées en plus forte quantité sont les araignées, les moules, les ormeaux et les huîtres ; et que la consommation journalière est de 26,2g par personne par jour

Probabilistic dietary exposure to phycotoxins in a recreational shellfish harvester subpopulation (France).

International audiencePhycotoxins, secondary phytoplankton metabolites, are considered as an important food safety issue because their accumulation by shellfish may render them unfit for human consumption. However, the likely intakes of phycotoxins via shellfish consumption are almost unknown because both contamination and consumption data are very scarce. Thus, two 1-year surveys were conducted (through the same population: recreational shellfish harvesters and from the same geographical area) to assess: shellfish consumption and contamination by major toxins (domoic acid (DA) group, okadaic acid (OA) group and spirolides (SPXs)). Recreational shellfish harvesters had been targeted as an at-risk subpopulation because they consume more shellfish than general population and because they eat not only commercial shellfish species controlled by official authorities but also their own harvests of shellfish species may be in non-controlled areas and more over shellfish species non-considered in the official control species. Then, these two kinds of data were combined with deterministic and probabilistic approaches for both acute and chronic exposures, on considering the impact of shellfish species and cooking on phycotoxin levels. For acute risk, monitoring programs seem to be adequate for DAs, whereas OAs could be a matter of concern for high consumers (their acute intakes were up to ninefold the acute reference dose (ARfD)). About chronic risk, OAs are a matter of concern. The daily OAs intakes were close to the ARfD, which is, by definition, greater than the tolerable daily intake. Moreover, SPX contamination is low but regular, no (sub)chronic SPX toxicity data exist; but in case of (sub)chronic toxicity, SPX exposure should be considered.Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology advance online publication, 4 July 2012; doi:10.1038/jes.2012.44

Probabilistic exposure assessment to phycotoxins by an at-risk sub-population

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Domoic Acid, Okadaic Acid and Spirolides: Inter-Species Variability in Contamination and Cooking Effects

International audienceThe inter-species variability of contamination by domoic acid (DA), okadaic acid and analogues (OAs) and spirolides (SPX) in mussels, oysters, cockles, carpet shell clams and razor clams was assessed. DA concentrations were measured using both high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with Ultra Violet (UV) detection and HPLC coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS); OAs and SPX were measured using HPLC-MS/MS. Observations showed that for each phycotoxin, the contamination rates are species-dependent and the most contaminated species differ according to the kind of phycotoxin. For DA and SPX, cockles appear to be the most contaminated species whereas mussels seem to be the predominant vector for OAs. The effect of cooking process on DA concentrations was investigated in five different bivalve species by comparing toxin concentrations in whole raw flesh with concentrations in whole cooked flesh. The DA concentration decreased in cooked cockles and razor clams whereas it increased in cooked mussels, carpet shell clams and donax. Thus the impact of cooking is bivalve species-dependent. For OAs and SPX, the cooking process was studied on mussels and resulted in an increase in the toxin concentration because of their lipophilic nature. These results should be taken into consideration in exposure assessments and in the design of regulatory monitoring programs, as the current banning levels based on raw bivalves may over- or under-protect consumers when shellfish are eaten cooked

Relevant shellfish consumption data for dietary exposure assessment among high shellfish consumers, Western Brittany, France.

International audienceShellfish consumption can be a major pathway of exposure to pollutants for humans. It is fundamental to know if people eat enough shellfish to cause health problems, firstly in high consumers as recreational shellfish harvesters. The objectives of this study were to investigate the types of shellfish eaten, number of meals, portion size, sources of shellfish and shellfish consumption rates among French recreational shellfish harvesters; to determine factors affecting consumption patterns and to examine the reliability of the two methods used: a Food Frequency Questionnaire and a one-month food diary. The mean consumption rates were 11.63 and 26.21 g/person/day for shellfish derived from a self-harvested source only and from all sources, respectively. Harvester consumption rates were between 6- and 15-fold higher than the general French population. The comparison between the FFQ and the food diary showed that results were reliable. Thereby, our results are relevant to assess risk due to shellfish consumption