Other Committee activities

Regulated Products

15.            The Committee has commented on number of AEJEG and FCM JEG opinions on various regulated products. These are being finalised prior to publication.

16.            The FSA are now using the Scholastica publication tool for the Journal of Food Standards to publish all FSA science reports. Since April 2024, three AEJEG and 2 FCMJEG assessments have been published:

Safety Assessment RP1466 2-Hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde,

Safety Assessment on Product E 401 (Sodium Alginate) Used as a Surface Treatment in Entire Fruits and Vegetables,

Safety Assessment: Outcome of assessment of the of use of steviol glycosides produced by fermentation (Rebaudioside M) using Saccharomyces cerevisiae,

Safety Assessment RP1190 2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate Phosphate,

Assessment of Wax, Rice Bran, Oxidized and Saponified as a Component of Plastic Materials and Articles Intended to Come Into Contact With Food.

NLCS request

17.            The Nutrition, Labelling, Composition and Standards Group, a four country risk management group providing a framework for DHSC-led legislation, requested the Committee’s advice on

Green tea catechins

18.            Following the publication of the statement on green tea catechins – the information was shared with NLCS colleagues who are currently considering all the evidence to develop risk management advice.

Other

19.            The COT discussed and advised on a recent assessment by the FCMJEG on environmental plastic and ocean bound plastic meant for use in food contact materials. The information and final assessment have been shared with the policy team, who have developed risk management advice. The final FSA/FSS communications package will be published alongside the final assessment in the first quarter of 2025.

20.            FSA funded a literature review on New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to Support Regulatory Decisions for Chemical Safety is now published.

21.             The objectives of the report were: to collate, review and categorise the most up-to-date scientific literature for the UK’s own evaluation of NAMs in the field of chemical risk assessment; to assess the regulatory readiness of NAMs and the degree to which these technologies have been successfully integrated into regulatory frameworks; to gather and summarise expert opinions (including global stakeholder interviews) on the gaps that hinder the further adoption of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in the regulatory process.

Sub-statement on the potential risk(s) from exposure to microplastics: Inhalation route

22.               The COT published the sub-statement on the inhalation of microplastics. This provides a high-level overview of the current state of knowledge, data gaps and research requirements with regards to this topic.

COT workshop

Gut reactions: xenobiotics and the microbiome workshop

23.            The COT held a workshop in October 2024 in London, United Kingdom on xenobiotics and the microbiome. The workshop included themed sessions consisting of short flash presentations followed by roundtable discussions. There was attendance from multiple stakeholders including academia, government and industry.

24.         The workshop set out to explore the complex current state of the science of the microbiome pathophysiology and the possible impact of xenobiotics on host- microbiome interactions and vice versa, including possible mechanisms and health implications, with a particular emphasis on the gut microbiome and dietary exposure.

25.         This will enable new insights, review the science, initiate discussions to determine where the data gaps are in research, what effects are of concern, and how might xenobiotics be evaluated practically for such effects in the future.

26.         The four sessions were: Interactions of the host microbiome system; Gut microbiome and xenobiotics; Assessing the impact on the microbiome; Possible ways to evaluate in the short to medium term and microbiome interventions for maintaining health and treating disease and Future Directions.

27.         The finalised report will be published in due course.