The Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) of the European Food Safety Athority (EFSA) decided to assess the dietary exposure to Ni, Cr, and Cr+6. In addressing exposure, EFSA calls for scientific input from all stakeholders.
Background:The discussion on the ambivalent role of chromium is ongoing (see the news below). Both the beneficial role of trivalent chromium for the human glucose and fat metabolism as well as the carcinogenicity of hexavalent chromium via the digestive system is under critical review by several health related organizations.
In March 2012 EFSA received a request from the Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) for a scientific opinion on estimation of the risk to human health from the presence of nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr) in vegetables and hexavalent chromium (Cr+6) in bottled water. Following this request, the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) decided to assess the dietary exposure to Ni, Cr, and Cr+6. In addressing exposure, EFSA will first use the available information, but there is an important need to collect further available information on the concentration levels of these metals in food and drinking water. There is a special interest to collect data on Cr+6 as currently very little data are available.
Call for data:National food authorities, research institutions, academia, food business operators, and other stakeholders are invited to submit data on occurrence of Ni, Cr, and Cr+6 in foods and drinking water. Data submission should follow the requirements described in the Call for continuous collection of chemical contaminants occurrence data in food and feed (
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/data/call/datex101217.htm). Please submit all the information available on the method of analysis in the data element “Analytical method text (R.11)”
Deadline for transmitting data: 1 October 2012
Contact details: Data should be transmitted using the EFSA web interface “Data Collection Framework (DCF)” (
https://dcf.efsa.europa.eu/dcf-war). The data collection group to be selected when submitting data on nickel and chromium through Data Collection Framework is the group for other substances “OCC_GROUP4”. In order to receive access to the DCF web interface please contact:
contaminants@efsa.europa.eu.
In case data are compiled using the simplified excel file, they cannot be transmitted using the DCF web interface. In this case data should be sent to the e-mail address:
contaminants@efsa.europa.eu.
Please address any technical inquiries regarding the reporting of data to:
contaminants@efsa.europa.eu.
Source:
efsa 
Related EVISA resources:
Link database: Human dietary nickel exposure Link database: Human dietary chromium exposure Link database: Nickel toxicity Link database: Chromium toxicity
Related EVISA News: April 11, 2012: EPA calls for more study on hexavalent chromium in drinking water December 27, 2011: EPA ruling on hexavalent chromium in water expected soon July 31, 2011: California sets goal for limiting hexavalent chromium in drinking water May 26, 2011: Oral ingestion of hexavalent chromium through drinking water and cancer mortality January 19, 2011: EPA Issues Guidance for Enhanced Monitoring of Hexavalent Chromium in Drinking Water November 24, 2010: Deemed Essential to Health for Decades, Chromium Has No Nutritional Effect, UA Researchers Show October 7, 2010: US EPA offers chance to speak out against hexavalent chromium June 12, 2010: Chromium(VI) much more toxic than chromium(III): At least for freshwater algae a paradigm to revise? November 15, 2009: Hexavalent chromium found in bread May 23, 2007: Trivalent Chromium supplementation no help in controlling diabetes May 17, 2007: Hexavalent Chromium in Drinking Water Causes Cancer in Lab Animals April 24, 2007: Nutrigenomics: The role of chromium for fat metabolism revisited November 23, 2004: Chromium (III) - not only therapeutic? last time modified: September24, 2024
