Food and chemical substances relevant for monitoring. Report from the Scientific Steering Committee of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment.

publishedVersio

Food and chemical substances relevant for monitoring - Scientific Opinion of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment

Source at https://vkm.no/</a

Food and chemical substances relevant for monitoring. Report from the Scientific Steering Committee of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment.

Source at https://vkm.no/At request from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA), VKM has identified food groups and food items consumed by the Norwegian population that are relevant for monitoring regarding content of one or more undesirable chemical substances (Figure 1). Undesirable chemical substances were defined as chemical substances in food that may constitute a potential health risk. VKM has created a knowledge base (an Excel file) as a tool for planning and prioritising monitoring of foods and undesirable chemical substances. The substance groups included in the knowledge base are flavourings, food additives, metals and metalloids, natural toxins, persistent organic pollutants, process-induced contaminants, substances in food contact materials, substances in food supplements, and trace elements. More than 40 different substances were included

Food and chemical substances relevant for monitoring - Scientific Opinion of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment

At request from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA), VKM has identified food groups and food items consumed by the Norwegian population that are relevant for monitoring regarding content of one or more undesirable chemical substances (Figure 1). Undesirable chemical substances were defined as chemical substances in food that may constitute a potential health risk.publishedVersionPaid open acces

Comparison of organic and conventional food and food Production. Part IV: Human health – hygiene and pathogens

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Matproduksjon, mattrygghet og miljø - innspill om kunnskapsbehov til gjennomføringen av det grønne skiftet - Uttalelse fra hovedkomiteen i Vitenskapskomiteen for mat og miljø (VKM)

Denne rapporten er utarbeidet av Vitenskapskomiteen for mat og miljø (VKM), en uavhengig, tverrfaglig komité som utarbeider kunnskapsgrunnlag for den norske mat- og miljøforvaltningen på områdene matproduksjon, mattrygghet og biologisk mangfold. De siste tiårene har FNs klimapanel, Det internasjonale naturpanelet, Det internasjonale ressurspanelet og flere andre paneler og organisasjoner levert rapporter som dokumenterer at befolkningsvekst og menneskelig aktivitet fører med seg store og økende utfordringer på miljø-, klima- og ressursområdet. Endringer innen disse områdene påvirker matproduksjon, matsikkerhet, mattrygghet, folkehelse og naturverdier i alle deler av verden (UNEP, 2021). Samtidig som utfordringene er globale, vil mange av de spesifikke problemstillingene og kunnskapsbehovene variere på bakgrunn av lokale forutsetninger, behov, og muligheter. I denne rapporten ser vi på problemstillinger og kunnskapsbehov som er relevante for Norge. Vi legger imidlertid til grunn at utvikling av kunnskap om bærekraftig matproduksjon i Norge, også vil kunne benyttes i andre land, og til å avhjelpe globale utfordringer. Ett eksempel på det er norsk sjømatproduksjon, som er tett sammenvevd med internasjonal sjømat- og fôrproduksjon. Kunnskap og nye metoder som er utviklet i Norge, vil derfor kunne tas i bruk og få konsekvenser for marin og landbasert bioproduksjon andre steder. Rapporten er basert på konseptet én helse, en helthetlig og tverrfaglig tilnærming som handler om at helsa til mennesker og dyr, og tilstanden til økosystemet vi lever i, er tett knyttet sammen og avhengig av hverandre. Tilnærmingen inkluderer både human-, landdyr-, fiske-, plante-, jord-, vann- og økosystemhelse, og tar sikte på å balansere og optimalisere helsa til mennesker, dyr og økosystemer på en bærekraftig måte.publishedVersionPaid open acces

Matproduksjon, mattrygghet og miljø - innspill om kunnskapsbehov til gjennomføringen av det grønne skiftet - Uttalelse fra hovedkomiteen i Vitenskapskomiteen for mat og miljø (VKM)

publishedVersio

Matproduksjon, mattrygghet og miljø - innspill om kunnskapsbehov til gjennomføringen av det grønne skiftet - Uttalelse fra hovedkomiteen i Vitenskapskomiteen for mat og miljø (VKM)

Source at https://vkm.no/</a

Genome editing in food and feed production – implications for risk assessment. Scientific Opinion of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment

The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) initiated this work to examine the extent to which organisms developed by genome-editing technologies pose new challenges in terms of risk assessment. This report considers whether the risk assessment guidance on genetically modified organisms, developed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), can be applied to evaluate potential risks of organisms developed by genome editing. Background Gene technology has allowed for the transfer of genes between organisms and species, and thereby to design altered genotypes with novel traits, i.e. GMOs. A new paradigm started in the early 2000s with the development of genome-editing techniques. Unlike traditional genetic modification techniques resulting in insertion of foreign DNA fragments at random locations in the genome, the new genome-editing techniques additionally open for a few single nucleotide edits or short insertions/deletions at a targeted site in an organism’s genome. These new techniques can be applied to most types of organisms, including plants, animals and microorganisms of commercial interest. An important question is how the novel, genome-edited organisms should be evaluated with respect to risks to health and the environment. The European Court of Justice decided in 2018 to include genome-edited organisms in the GMO definition and hence in the regulatory system already in place. This implies that all products developed by genome-editing techniques must be risk-assessed within the existing regulatory framework for GMOs. The European and Norwegian regulatory frameworks regulate the production, import and placing on the market of food and feed containing, consisting of or produced from GMOs, as well as the release of GMOs into the environment. The assessment draws on guidance documents originally developed by EFSA for risk assessment of GMOs, which were drawn up mainly to address risks regarding insertion of transgenes. The new genome-editing techniques, however, provide a new continuum of organisms ranging from those only containing a minor genetic alteration to organisms containing insertion or deletion of larger genomic regions. Risk assessment of organisms developed by genome editing The present discourse on how new genome-editing techniques should be regulated lacks an analysis of whether risk assessment methodologies for GMOs are adequate for risk assessment of organisms developed through the use of the new genome-editing techniques. Therefore, this report describes the use of genome-editing techniques in food and feed production and discusses challenges in risk assessment with the regulatory framework. Specifically, this report poses the question as to whether the EFSA guidance documents are sufficient for evaluating risks to health and environment posed by genome-edited plants, animals and microorganisms. To address these questions, the report makes use of case examples relevant for Norway. These examples, intended for food and feed, include oilseed rape with a modified fatty acid profile, herbicide-tolerant and pest-resistant crops, sterile salmon, virus-resistant pigs and hornless cattle. The report considers all aspects of the stepwise approach as described in the EFSA guidance documents. Conclusions The inherent flexibility of the EFSA guidance makes it suitable to cover health and environmental risk assessments of a wide range of organisms with various traits and intended uses. Combined with the embedded case-by-case approach the guidance is applicable to genome-edited organisms. The evaluation of the guidance demonstrates that the parts of the health and environmental risk assessment concerned with novel traits (i.e. the phenotype of the organism) may be fully applied to all categories of genome-edited organisms. ............publishedVersio

Genome editing in food and feed production – implications for risk assessment. Scientific Opinion of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment

The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) initiated this work to examine the extent to which organisms developed by genome-editing technologies pose new challenges in terms of risk assessment. This report considers whether the risk assessment guidance on genetically modified organisms, developed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), can be applied to evaluate potential risks of organisms developed by genome editing. Background Gene technology has allowed for the transfer of genes between organisms and species, and thereby to design altered genotypes with novel traits, i.e. GMOs. A new paradigm started in the early 2000s with the development of genome-editing techniques. Unlike traditional genetic modification techniques resulting in insertion of foreign DNA fragments at random locations in the genome, the new genome-editing techniques additionally open for a few single nucleotide edits or short insertions/deletions at a targeted site in an organism’s genome. These new techniques can be applied to most types of organisms, including plants, animals and microorganisms of commercial interest. An important question is how the novel, genome-edited organisms should be evaluated with respect to risks to health and the environment. The European Court of Justice decided in 2018 to include genome-edited organisms in the GMO definition and hence in the regulatory system already in place. This implies that all products developed by genome-editing techniques must be risk-assessed within the existing regulatory framework for GMOs. The European and Norwegian regulatory frameworks regulate the production, import and placing on the market of food and feed containing, consisting of or produced from GMOs, as well as the release of GMOs into the environment. The assessment draws on guidance documents originally developed by EFSA for risk assessment of GMOs, which were drawn up mainly to address risks regarding insertion of transgenes. The new genome-editing techniques, however, provide a new continuum of organisms ranging from those only containing a minor genetic alteration to organisms containing insertion or deletion of larger genomic regions. Risk assessment of organisms developed by genome editing The present discourse on how new genome-editing techniques should be regulated lacks an analysis of whether risk assessment methodologies for GMOs are adequate for risk assessment of organisms developed through the use of the new genome-editing techniques. Therefore, this report describes the use of genome-editing techniques in food and feed production and discusses challenges in risk assessment with the regulatory framework. Specifically, this report poses the question as to whether the EFSA guidance documents are sufficient for evaluating risks to health and environment posed by genome-edited plants, animals and microorganisms. To address these questions, the report makes use of case examples relevant for Norway. These examples, intended for food and feed, include oilseed rape with a modified fatty acid profile, herbicide-tolerant and pest-resistant crops, sterile salmon, virus-resistant pigs and hornless cattle. The report considers all aspects of the stepwise approach as described in the EFSA guidance documents. Conclusions The inherent flexibility of the EFSA guidance makes it suitable to cover health and environmental risk assessments of a wide range of organisms with various traits and intended uses. Combined with the embedded case-by-case approach the guidance is applicable to genome-edited organisms. The evaluation of the guidance demonstrates that the parts of the health and environmental risk assessment concerned with novel traits (i.e. the phenotype of the organism) may be fully applied to all categories of genome-edited organisms. ............acceptedVersionpublishedVersio