Preface

Prof Alan Boobis. Alan has grey hair, half rimmed glasses and grey facial hair. Alan is wearing a light coloured shirt and is photographed in front of a light coloured background.

 Professor Alan Boobis (Chair)

OBE PhD FBTS FBPhS

The Committee continues to have a full and varied programme of work throughout the year, considering both new topics but also continuing to work on larger, longer standing items. The Committee met on seven occasions in 2024.

Amongst the range of topics discussed by the Committee were bamboo biocomposites, marine biotoxins, the mycotoxins T2 and HT2, benchmark dose-modelling techniques, and New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). The long-standing assessment of titanium dioxide and bisphenol A were completed.

The Committee continued its review of components and contaminants in the maternal diet in support of the risk assessment currently being undertaken by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), considering ergot alkaloids, ginger, echinacea, raspberry leaf tea and calcidiol.

In 2024, the Committee continued to oversee and assure the risk assessment of regulated products, which were previously assessed in Europe, considering a number of Joint Expert Groups (JEGs) opinions on food additives, food contact materials, and recycling processes.

The Committee are now also receiving requests for advice from the Nutrition Labelling Composition and Standards Policy Group, who co-ordinate the policy approach in this area across the UK, such as that on such as the authorisation of iron enriched yeast.

The joint COT and SACN Working Group continued their work on a benefit- risk assessment of plant-based drinks consumed as an alternative to cows’ milk. It is expected that this WG will report in 2025 following a period of peer review consultation. Committee Members have been involved in several other working groups and joint working groups, covering areas as diverse as cannabidiol (CBD) and PFAS. The Committee has also worked closely with their sister Committee on Mutagenicity on the review of titanium dioxide.

The Committee held a workshop “Gut reactions: Xenobiotics and the microbiome”.

In 2024, the Committee welcomed new Members Dr Alison Yeates, Dr Meera Cush, Dr Chris Morris and Dr Andreas Kolb along with two new lay Members Mr Nick Richardson and Mr Gordon Burton.  The Committee said goodbye to Deputy Chair Dr Sarah Judge, Dr Phil Botham, Professor Matthew Wright and lay Members Ms Juliet Rix and Ms Jane Case, whose terms on the Committee have expired. I would like to thank them all for their invaluable contributions and to wish them well for the future.

Professor Shirley Price has accepted the role of Deputy Chair to the Committee and following on from some discussions on the Committee’s ways of working will be focusing particularly on the regulated products and strengthening links with the Joint Expert Groups.

This will be my final Annual Report as Chair of the COT, and I would like to acknowledge the contributions of Members and staff, not over just the past year but throughout the 10 years of my tenure as Chair.

It has been truly a privilege to chair the Committee and while there have been challenges, I have found the experience very rewarding. I owe a huge thank you to all Members of the Committee and its sub-groups, both past and present, for their commitment, hard work and expertise in ensuring the quality of the advice provided by the COT.

I owe an equal debt of gratitude to the joint Scientific Secretaries and their respective staffs, who have provided such tremendous support to both me personally as Chair and to the Committee as a whole. Their professionalism and expertise have been essential in ensuring the quality of the COT’s work.

I will be sorry to leave the Committee, but I know that it is in good hands, and I am confident that it will continue to provide the highest level of scientific advice in the future.