Health Risk Assessment of Complex Organoarsenic Species in Food

Background: 

Over 100 different organoarsenic species have been identified across various organisms, with their toxicity varying significantly. Understanding these differences is crucial for accurate health risk assessments. 

In 2009, the EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) published a Scientific Opinion on arsenic in food, but it excluded complex organoarsenic species like arsenosugars and arsenolipids due to insufficient data. 

In 2021, the European Commission (EC) requested an update of the 2009 assessment on inorganic arsenic in food and a consumer risk assessment for organic arsenic. EFSA's updated Opinion on inorganic arsenic and the risk assessment of small organoarsenic species were published in 2024. The current document presents the risk assessment of complex organoarsenic species.

Complex organoarsenic species, which include methyl groups and larger organic groups bound to arsenic, are almost exclusively found in marine foods and in trace amounts in terrestrial foods. These species mainly consist of arsenobetaine (AsB), arsenosugars, and arsenolipids.

Arsenobetaine (AsB):

AsB is the predominant arsenic species in fish, crustaceans, and most molluscs. It is chemically stable and can be reliably quantified by modern food analytical laboratories. Other species like arsenocholine (AsC) are also present but usually at low levels. AsB is well absorbed by both rodents and humans, is not metabolized, and is eliminated through urine within days. It has shown no adverse effects in repeat dose toxicity tests in rodents, and has not demonstrated genotoxicity in in-vitro assays. Human studies do not indicate any association with adverse outcomes. Therefore, current dietary exposure levels of AsB do not raise a health concern.

Arsenosugars (AsSug): 

Arsenosugars are the primary arsenic species in marine seaweeds, particularly brown seaweeds. They are moderately chemically stable and can be quantified by experienced laboratories if the analytical process is mild. Arsenosugars are metabolized to DMA(V) and other minor As species, which are excreted in urine within four days. Based on qualitative assessments of uncertainties, it is likely that dietary exposures to AsSugOH do not raise a health concern, though no conclusions could be drawn for other arsenosugars.

Arsenolipids: 

Arsenolipids include sub-groups such as arsenic fatty acids (ASFAs) and arsenic hydrocarbons (AsHCs), typically found at low levels (< 10%) in fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and seaweeds. These sub-groups have different chemical properties and stability, complicating their measurement. Arsenolipids ingested from food are bioaccessible and bioavailable, metabolized mainly to DMA(V) and some minor As species, which are excreted in urine. They can also transfer to human milk (transfer rate about 3%). Due to a lack of data, a risk characterization for arsenolipids could not be conducted.

Conclusion: 

The assessment underscores the need for more occurrence data on complex organoarsenic species and a better understanding of their metabolism, especially regarding inter-individual differences in humans. There is a general need for toxicity data on complex organoarsenic species, which is currently very limited.

EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), Helle Katrine Knutsen, Agneta Åkesson, Vasileios Bampidis, Margherita Bignami, Laurent Bodin, James Kevin Chipman, Gisela Degen, Antonio Hernández-Jerez, Tim Hofer, Christer Hogstrand, Stefano Landi, Jean-Charles Leblanc, Kyriaki Machera, Evangelia Ntzani, Guido Rychen, Salomon Sand, Katharina Vejdovszky, Barbara Viviani, Lars Barregård, Diane Benford, Eugenia Dogliotti, Kevin Francesconi, Jose Ángel Gómez Ruiz, Hans Steinkellner, Tanja Schwerdtle, Risk assessment of complex organoarsenic species in food, EFSA J., 22 (2024) e9112. DOI:  10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9112

EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM), Dieter Schrenk, Margherita Bignami, Laurent Bodin, James Kevin Chipman, Jesús del Mazo, Bettina Grasl-Kraupp, Christer Hogstrand, Laurentius (Ron) Hoogenboom, Jean-Charles Leblanc, Carlo Stefano Nebbia, Elsa Nielsen, Evangelia Ntzani, Annette Petersen, Salomon Sand, Christiane Vleminckx, Heather Wallace, Lars Barregård, Diane Benford, Eugenia Dogliotti, Kevin Francesconi, Jose Ángel Gómez Ruiz, Hans Steinkellner, Tuuli Tauriainen, Tanja Schwerdtle,
Risk assessment of small organoarsenic species in food, EFSA J., 22 (2024) e8844. DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8844

last time modified: December 15, 2024