Conclusions

This is a paper for discussion. This does not represent the views of the Committee and should not be cited.

82.               The COT was asked by the FSA and FSS to assess the risk to UK consumers from dietary exposure to T-2 and HT-2 mycotoxins following the introduction of EU maximum levels and the collection of new UK occurrence data for cereal grains and a limited number of ready to eat (RTE) products.

83.               Acute exposures to T-2 and HT-2 from processed cereal grains were below the group ARfD across all population groups and were therefore not a toxicological concern. Chronic exposures at mean consumption levels were also below the TDI and therefore not of toxicological concern. However, at high (97.5^th percentile) consumption levels, chronic exposures in infants, toddlers, adults, and the elderly exceeded the TDI by up to 3-fold, and a potential health concern cannot be fully excluded, especially for young age groups. These findings are broadly consistent with a previous COT assessment in infant and toddlers based on the 2015 mycotoxin survey.

84.               For RTE foods, estimated exposures were considerably higher than for grains and frequently exceeded the TDI and, in infants and toddlers, the ARfD. This suggested potential health risks in these age groups, particularly for chronic high consumers. However, these results should be treated as indicative of potential foods of concerns only, as the available dataset was very limited and may not reflect general population exposure.

85.               The Committee recommended that more extensive and representative occurrence data be collected, particularly for the sum of T-2 and HT-2 in RTE foods, to enable a more robust and reliable risk assessment. Testing throughout the cereal supply chain, from raw materials to finished products, would also help improve future assessments.

Secretariat

October 2025