Tracking Chemicals for Food Safety: A Risk Category Worth Our Attention

Editor’s Note: This article was written by Steve Gibb, M.S., and Neal Saab, Ph.D., of the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences.

Being a food safety professional requires fluency in a variety of important but distinct disciplines. Food safety professionals are expected to track and respond to microbial pathogens such as bacteria in some produce and meats. In addition, allergens like sesame and peanut have been in the news and need to be addressed both in foods and processing equipment. And mycotoxin risks need to be tracked and addressed.

In light of these and other demands and topic areas, adding the evaluation of food chemical risks to the work requirements of food safety professionals can be challenging. This is partly because academic institutions draw a clear distinction between disciplines in pathogenicity like microbiology and ones focusing on chemicals such as toxicology. As a result, food safety experts are often trained in one discipline with limited experience or familiarity with the others.

Chemistry is complicated and involves long, unpronounceable names even for those with college- or graduate-level coursework under their belts (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, anyone?). Chemicals can also change in the environment and in living things. Sometimes metabolites are riskier than parent compounds, such as the case with trichloroethylene (TCE). There are also cases where harmful chemicals are rapidly degraded into harmless metabolites in the human body. It is also important to note that responses to chemical exposures depend on dose, and the response can vary by individual and population group.

Whole careers are spent conducting health risk assessments for some complex chemical groups like dioxins and furans. And while that sounds intimidating, it’s important to take steps to stay on top of chemical risks — despite these challenges.

SOILS. So why learn about chemicals and keep track? Environmental chemicals in air, water and biosolids can reach farmers’ fields, potentially posing risks in foodstuffs, as we’ve seen with some heavy metals like cadmium and lead. Some agricultural soils naturally have high concentrations of metals which can be taken up in crops — a topic of increasing focus in Congress, FDA, among researchers and in the NGO community after detections of metals in some powdered products and foods. Sampling regimes are crucial and require attention to detail.

PACKAGING. Unintentionally added chemicals and chemicals migrating from packaging are other sources that can potentially lead to contamination of food products. As we’ve learned from concerns expressed about bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals in food packaging, these can be important to trace and understand. While some additives serve important functions for food packaging, some have also been revealed to be risky to human health.

Some of the most recently recognized chemical additives are BPA and PFAS. Food packaging materials such as paper, cardboard, foams and plastics can involve additives, depending on the intended use. Additives impart properties such as flexibility, rigidity and water- and grease-proofing. PFAS have been used in packaging to maintain food integrity until more recent efforts to find substitutes. The United States Environmental Protection Agency is taking steps to track and address PFAS. Meanwhile, potential alternatives for food packaging may lie in the exploration of bioplastics, as they have been showing promise within the packaging industry.

RESOURCES. Information resources are important to keep staff up to date. Peer-reviewed science is foundational. But being curious and reading about chemicals both in the mainstream press and in trade publications is important. That can help food safety professionals navigate which chemicals to keep on their radar and identify emerging chemicals of concern.

Lastly, it is critical to seek information from the technical experts who can provide the latest information on the potential hazards and likelihood of exposure to chemical toxicants that have the potential to cause adverse health effects. The following peer-reviewed journals are just some that publish content on food chemicals:

• Food and Chemical Toxicology
• Chemical Research in Toxicology
• Environmental Health Perspectives
• Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
• Trends in Food Science and Technology
  

There are also a number of trade press publications dedicated to food chemicals, as well as LinkedIn groups. Avail yourselves of these resources to stay on top of potential food chemical risks in your supply chain, processing facilities and packaging and on store shelves.

Prevention and evaluation are key to controlling chemical hazards, and being vigilant will pay dividends. For example, having up-to-date knowledge of chemicals in your work environment or facility will help when engaging with regulators, auditors and inspectors.

Remember: what can be traced can be evaluated. Even if you do not have a mass spectrometer nearby to check, reading and staying curious will help you identify chemicals of concern to your organization. Staying informed helps everyone know what to look for so food chemical risks — among the myriad of others food safety professionals address — aren’t missed.

Steve Gibb, M.S., is science communications manager at the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS). Neal Saab, Ph.D., is IAFNS senior scientific program manager and facilitates IAFNS’ Caffeine Committee, Food & Chemical Safety Committee and Food Packaging Safety & Sustainability Committee.