Agenda items for 2025

Ways of working

8.            The Committee considered horizon scanning as part of their recent discussions on ways of working. It was agreed that while the process could be more effective, and that they would be interested in information on different horizon scanning techniques it was important in considering these to determine what exactly the Committee needed to get out of the process. Members agreed that the results of horizon scanning should be a living document.

9.            It was also noted that other Advisory Committees and Regulatory Agencies covering chemicals undertook horizon scanning and it might be useful to learn what they were doing, noting that, for example, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) might be a nearer equivalent than the COC or the COM, whose interests were more focused. Unfortunately, due to resource constraints it has not been possible to develop work on horizon scanning since the Committee discussions on ways of working took place.

Ongoing items

10.            There are a number of ongoing items, either on the current agenda or scheduled for further discussion at a future meeting:

•  COT input into the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) review of the maternal diet.
•   Biologically based food contact materials.
•   Bisphenol A.
•  Emerging marine biotoxins.
•   the mycotoxins T2 and HT2.
• per and poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
•   Nanoplastics.
•    Antimony with respect to drinking water guidelines.
•     Boron with respect to drinking water guidelines.
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Upcoming items

11.             Upcoming items may include alternatives to BPA, mycotoxins in cat food and acrylamide.

Proposed Workshops

12.            The two most recent COT workshops have been held on “Evolving Our Assessment & Future Guiding Principles Workshop” and “Gut Reactions: Xenobiotics and the microbiome” which took place in October 2024.

13.            It is proposed that the 2025 workshop cover Artificial Intelligence (AI) in chemical risk assessment and any workshop would be likely to take place in October 2025. It is intended that the proposed workshop be a first step towards reviewing state of the art AI technologies relevant to chemical risk assessment as well as discussing the opportunities and the challenges associated with application of AI in chemical safety assessment. However, Members will wish to consider other potential topics.

14.            The FSA and UKHSA Secretariat are exploring options for holding a joint meeting with other Committees to discuss areas of joint work and ongoing topics.

COC and COM horizon scanning

15.            COC and COM have been considering the approach used to horizon scanning for these Committees, which included a joint discussion session in October 2023. This was further investigated by COC in 2024, with discussions at the March and November meetings. In the meantime, there is no further update to activities for COC or COM than was presented in the 2023 COT horizon scanning paper.