CETOCOEN Excellence

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Current Advances, Research Needs and Gaps in Mycotoxins Biomonitoring under the HBM4EU-Lessons Learned and Future Trends

Publication . Alvito, Paula; Assunção, Ricardo Manuel; Bajard, Lola; Martins, Carla; Mengelers, Marcel J.B.; Mol, Hans; Namorado, Sónia; van den Brand, Annick D.; Vasco, Elsa; Viegas, Susana; Silva, Maria João

Mycotoxins are natural metabolites produced by fungi that contaminate food and feed worldwide. They can pose a threat to human and animal health, mainly causing chronic effects, e.g., immunotoxic and carcinogenic. Due to climate change, an increase in European population exposure to mycotoxins is expected to occur, raising public health concerns. This urges us to assess the current human exposure to mycotoxins in Europe to allow monitoring exposure and prevent future health impacts. The mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) were considered as priority substances to be studied within the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) to generate knowledge on internal exposure and their potential health impacts. Several policy questions were addressed concerning hazard characterization, exposure and risk assessment. The present article presents the current advances attained under the HBM4EU, research needs and gaps. Overall, the knowledge on the European population risk from exposure to DON was improved by using new harmonised data and a newly derived reference value. In addition, mechanistic information on FB1 was, for the first time, organized into an adverse outcome pathway for a congenital anomaly. It is expected that this knowledge will support policy making and contribute to driving new Human Biomonitoring (HBM) studies on mycotoxin exposure in Europe.

2022-11-24Journal article

Open access

Exploring BPA alternatives - Environmental levels and toxicity review

Publication . Adamovsky, Ondrej; Groh, Ksenia J.; Białk-Bielińska, Anna; Escher, Beate I.; Beaudouin, R.; Mora Lagares, Liadys; Tollefsen, Knut Erik; Fenske, Martina; Mulkiewicz, Ewa; Creusot, Nicolas; Sosnowska, Anita; Loureiro, Susana; Beyer, Jonny; Repetto, Guillermo; Štern, Alja; Lopes, Isabel; Monteiro, Marta; Zikova-Kloas, Andrea; Eleršek, Tina; Vračko, Marjan; Zdybel, Szymon; Puzyn, Tomasz; Koczur, Weronika; Ebsen Morthorst, Jane; Holbech, Henrik; Carlsson, Gunnar; Örn, Stefan; Herrero, Óscar; Siddique, Ayesha; Liess, Matthias; Braun, Georg; Srebny, Vanessa; Žegura, Bojana; Hinfray, Nathalie; Brion, François; Knapen, Dries; Vandeputte, Ellen; Stinckens, Evelyn; Vergauwen, Lucia; Behrendt, Lars; Silva, Maria João; Blaha, Ludek; Kyriakopoulou, Katerina

Bisphenol A alternatives are manufactured as potentially less harmful substitutes of bisphenol A (BPA) that offer similar functionality. These alternatives are already in the market, entering the environment and thus raising ecological concerns. However, it can be expected that levels of BPA alternatives will dominate in the future, they are limited information on their environmental safety. The EU PARC project highlights BPA alternatives as priority chemicals and consolidates information on BPA alternatives, with a focus on environmental relevance and on the identification of the research gaps. The review highlighted aspects and future perspectives. In brief, an extension of environmental monitoring is crucial, extending it to cover BPA alternatives to track their levels and facilitate the timely implementation of mitigation measures. The biological activity has been studied for BPA alternatives, but in a non-systematic way and prioritized a limited number of chemicals. For several BPA alternatives, the data has already provided substantial evidence regarding their potential harm to the environment. We stress the importance of conducting more comprehensive assessments that go beyond the traditional reproductive studies and focus on overlooked relevant endpoints. Future research should also consider mixture effects, realistic environmental concentrations, and the long-term consequences on biota and ecosystems.

2024-05-23Journal article

Open access

A critical review to identify data gaps and improve risk assessment of bisphenol A alternatives for human health

Publication . Mhaouty-Kodja, Sakina; Zalko, Daniel; Tait, Sabrina; Testai, Emanuela; Viguié, Catherine; Corsini, Emanuela; Grova, Nathalie; Buratti, Franca Maria; Cabaton, Nicolas J.; Coppola, Lucia; De la Vieja, Antonio; Dusinska, Maria; El Yamani, Naouale; Galbiati, Valentina; Iglesias-Hernández, Patricia; Kohl, Yvonne; Maddalon, Ambra; Marcon, Francesca; Naulé, Lydie; Rundén-Pran, Elise; Salani, Francesca; Santori, Nicoletta; Torres-Ruiz, Mónica; Turner, Jonathan D.; Adamovsky, Ondrej; Aiello-Holden, Kiara; Dirven, Hubert; Louro, Henriqueta; Silva, Maria João

Bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic chemical widely used in the production of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, has been associated with a variety of adverse effects in humans including metabolic, immunological, reproductive, and neurodevelopmental effects, raising concern about its health impact. In the EU, it has been classified as toxic to reproduction and as an endocrine disruptor and was thus included in the candidate list of substances of very high concern (SVHC). On this basis, its use has been banned or restricted in some products. As a consequence, industries turned to bisphenol alternatives, such as bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF), which are now found in various consumer products, as well as in human matrices at a global scale. However, due to their toxicity, these two bisphenols are in the process of being regulated. Other BPA alternatives, whose potential toxicity remains largely unknown due to a knowledge gap, have also started to be used in manufacturing processes. The gradual restriction of the use of BPA underscores the importance of understanding the potential risks associated with its alternatives to avoid regrettable substitutions. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge on the potential hazards related to BPA alternatives prioritized by European Regulatory Agencies based on their regulatory relevance and selected to be studied under the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC): BPE, BPAP, BPP, BPZ, BPS-MAE, and TCBPA. The focus is on data related to toxicokinetic, endocrine disruption, immunotoxicity, developmental neurotoxicity, and genotoxicity/carcinogenicity, which were considered the most relevant endpoints to assess the hazard related to those substances. The goal here is to identify the data gaps in BPA alternatives toxicology and hence formulate the future directions that will be taken in the frame of the PARC project, which seeks also to enhance chemical risk assessment methodologies using new approach methodologies (NAMs).

2024-10-22Journal article

Open access