Browsing by Author "Thomsen, Sofie T."
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- Building capacity in risk-benefit assessment of foods: lessons learned from the RB4EU projectPublication . Assunção, Ricardo; Alvito, Paula; Brazão, Roberto; Carmona, Paulo; Fernandes, Paulo; Jakobsen, Lea S.; Lopes, Carla; Martins, Carla; Membré, Jeanne-Marie; Monteiro, Sarogini; Nabais, Pedro; Thomsen, Sofie T.; Torres, Duarte; Viegas, Silvia; Pires, Sara; Boué, GeraldineBackground: Human diet may present both risks and benefits to consumers’ health. Risk-benefit assessment of foods (RBA) intends to estimate the overall health impact associated with exposure (or lack of exposure) to a particular food or food component. Scope and approach: “RiskBenefit4EU – Partnering to strengthen the risk-benefit assessment within EU using a holistic approach” (RB4EU) is a project funded by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that integrates a multidisciplinary team from Portugal, Denmark and France. This project aims to strengthen the EU capacity to assess and integrate food risks and benefits regarding toxicology, microbiology and nutrition. One of the specific objectives of RB4EU was to build capacity in RBA among the recipient partners from Portugal. In order to achieve this objective, a capacity building strategy including theoretical and hands-on training and the development of a case-study were established. This paper aims to present the strategy used in the RB4EU project to build capacity within RBA, including the main training approaches and the lessons learned. Key findings and conclusions: The capacity-building program included three main activities: theoretical training, focusing on RBA concepts; hands-on training, applying the acquired concepts to a concrete case-study, using the methods and tools displayed; and scientific missions, intending to provide advanced training in specific domains of RBA. The developed strategy can be used in the future to build capacity within RBA.
- Consumo de alimentos à base de cereais pelas crianças portuguesas: uma avaliação de risco-benefícioPublication . Assunção, Ricardo; Boué, Géraldine; Alvito, Paula; Brazão, Roberto; Carmona, Paulo; Carvalho, Catarina; Correia, Daniela; Fernandes, Paulo; Lopes, Carla; Martins, Carla; Membré, Jeanne-Marie; Monteiro, Sarogini; Nabais, Pedro; Thomsen, Sofie T.; Torres, Duarte; Pires, Sara M.; Jakobsen, Lea S.De uma forma geral, o consumo de alimentos pode apresentar potenciais riscos e benefícios para os consumidores. Os alimentos à base de cereais, incluindo os cereais de pequeno-almoço e os cereais infantis, representam componentes importantes da dieta humana e estão entre os primeiros alimentos sólidos que são introduzidos na dieta. Estes alimentos constituem uma fonte importante de vários nutrientes, incluindo o sódio, fibras e açúcares livres, que podem estar associados a efeitos benéficos e adversos para a saúde. Simultaneamente, os alimentos à base de cereais podem também ser veículo de contaminantes químicos (por exemplo, micotoxinas) e microbiológicos (por exemplo, Bacillus cereus). As aflatoxinas, um grupo de micotoxinas que apresenta maior potencial tóxico, são frequentemente detetadas em cereais. No âmbito do projeto RiskBenefit4EU, o presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar os riscos e os benefícios associados ao consumo de alimentos à base de cereais pelas crianças portuguesas. Os riscos (teores de aflatoxinas e B. cereus, sódio e açúcares livres) e os benefícios (teor de fibra) associados ao consumo de cereais de pequeno-almoço (CPA) foram comparados com aqueles associados ao consumo de cereais infantis (CI). Os resultados obtidos revelaram que a mudança do consumo atual para os cenários alternativos considerados (em especial para o consumo de cereais de pequeno-almoço com características semelhantes ao “Melhor CPA”) poderia resultar num ganho de anos de vida saudável.
- Projeto RiskBenefit4EU – uma estratégia para a avaliação de risco-benefício de alimentos em PortugalPublication . Assunção, Ricardo; Alvito, Paula; Brazão, Roberto; Carmona, Paulo; Carvalho, Catarina; Fernandes, Paulo; Jakobsen, Lea S.; Lopes, Carla; Martins, Carla; Membré, Jeanne-Marie; Monteiro, Sarogini; Nabais, Pedro; Thomsen, Sofie T.; Torres, Duarte; Viegas, Silvia; Pires, Sara M; Boué, GéraldineO balanço entre os riscos e benefícios para a saúde resultante do consumo de alimentos é um importante contributo para apoiar a definição de políticas de saúde e a promoção da literacia dos consumidores. No âmbito do projeto RiskBenefit4EU, financiado pela European Food Safety Authority e coordenado pelo Departamento de Alimentação e Nutrição do Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, o presente trabalho pretende descrever a estratégia implementada para a capacitação das equipas portuguesas em avaliação de risco-benefício de alimentos (RBA). Concretizada pelos parceiros do Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique e da Technical University of Denmark, a capacitação consiste em três atividades principais: 1) Formação teórica, focando os conceitos-chave para a avaliação de RBA; 2) Formação prática, aplicando os conceitos adquiridos e as metodologias transmitidas a um estudo de caso; e 3) Missões científicas, de curta duração, para formação avançada em domínios específicos da avaliação de RBA. No que diz respeito à formação prática, e com o objetivo de consolidar os conhecimentos adquiridos em avaliação de RBA, está previsto o desenvolvimento de um estudo de caso português sobre alimentos à base de cereais habitualmente consumidos por crianças. A estratégia de capacitação seguida neste projeto servirá de modelo para outras equipas e países, contribuindo para a disseminação de uma cultura de avaliação de RBA nas vertentes toxicológica, microbiológica e nutricional a nível internacional.
- Risk-benefit assessment of cereal-based foods: a case study under RiskBenefit4EU projectPublication . Martins, Carla; Boué, Géraldine; Alvito, Paula; Brazão, Roberto; Carmona, Paulo; Carvalho, C.; Correia, D.; Fernandes, Paulo; Lopes, C.; Membré, Jeanne-Marie; Monteiro, Sarogini; Nabais, P.; Thomsen, Sofie T.; Torres, D.; Pires, S.; Jakobsen, Lea S.; Assunção, RicardoCereal-based foods, including breakfast cereals (BC) and infant cereals (IC), are among the first solid foods introduced in infants’ diets. BC and IC are sources of nutrients that have beneficial effects on health. However, they can also be a source of potentially harmful chemical or microbiological contaminants, or of nutrients that at high consumption levels may lead to adverse health effects. Young children have a less varied diet and consume food in amounts that are higher relative to their body weight, if compared to adults. Therefore, the potential health risk of contaminants in foods consumed by young children is likewise higher. The aim of this study was to assess the risks and benefits associated with the consumption of BC and IC in children below 35 months of age in Portugal. The health effects associated with the presence of aflatoxins, Bacillus cereus, sodium and free sugars were weighted against the health benefits of the intake of fiber. A risk-benefit assessment approach was applied and the impact on health of a modification in consumption of BC and IC from the current consumption to various alternative scenarios was quantified in terms of disability-adjusted life years. Results showed that moving from the current consumption to the considered alternative scenarios could result in a gain of healthy-life years. The Portuguese children could benefit from exclusive BC consumption if the products consumed have an adequate nutritional profile in terms of fiber, sodium and free sugars and levels of aflatoxins reduced as much as possible.
- Risk-benefit assessment of foods: lessons learned from a capacity building experience under the RiskBenefit4EU ProjectPublication . Boué, Géraldine; Alvito, Paula; Brazão, Roberto; Carmona, P.; Fernandes, Paulo; Martins, C.; Membré, Jeanne Marie; Monteiro, Sarogini; Nabais, P.; Thomsen, Sofie T.; Torres, D.; Viegas, Silvia; Pires, S.; Assunção, RicardoIntroduction: Risk-benefit assessment of foods (RBA) has emerged recently to estimate the overall impact of food, food ingredients and diets on human health. Significant methodological progress has been made and its value is now recognized to support the decision-making process in public health to prevent food-associated diseases and promote wellbeing in populations. Purpose: At this time, few research groups have experience in RBA. RiskBenefit4EU project (RB4EU) was funded by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to promote and disseminate the use of RBA by developing a harmonized RBA framework. The presentation will introduce the strategy developed to capacitate a new team to perform an RBA of foods and lessons learned from this experience. Methods: Activities of the capacity building experience were designed by experienced researchers in RBA to transfer methodologies to a new multidisciplinary team comprised of experts in risk assessment in toxicology, microbiology or nutrition, epidemiology, dietary assessment or data analysis. Results: Short courses were organized in two weeks of training, using a learning-by-doing process, to: i) build a common language within the team by harmonizing important concepts: hazard, health effect, adverse health effect, beneficial health effect, risk, benefit, health and health impact; ii) learn basics used in RBA, including risk assessment in toxicology, microbiology, and nutrition, epidemiology, data analysis, modeling, statistics and uncertainty analysis; iii) become familiar with the stepwise RBA approach with the explanation of key steps that were illustrated with RBA examples previously performed; iv) initiate an RBA case study, performed by the new RBA team, to practice and answer a specific public health question. Significance: The RB4EU project organized the first training in RBA. The strategy developed, with the materials and method used, can now be re-used to capacitate other new teams in RBA and can be considered as a robust basis to build on.