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ILSI

Environment and Health Task Force

Objectives

 

 The mission of this task force is to contribute to the understanding of the risks to human health and the environment that result from food production and food processing, and to promote best practices to manage these risks. It addresses scientific issues related to the assessment and control of the agricultural and industrial impact on the environment and promotes the sustainable use of natural resources.

Impact

  • Task Force publications are widely read and disseminated among Europe.
  • This task force is supporting an activity, of current interest, such as providing recommendations for safety evaluation of Food Crops for Non-food Use.
  • The current activity on ‘Sustainable Water Management for Crops’ addresses relevant issues related to the actual water demands and future perspectives in the terms of water availability.

Activities

Food Crops for Non-food Use (FCNFU)

 

Crops that traditionally have been used for food and feed production are increasingly employed to produce other valuable substances like biofuels, bioplastics and pharmaceuticals. These food crops can be modified by modern conventional breeding or genetic modification techniques to improve their performance for non-food use. The entire crop may be used, or only parts that are not used for human consumption.

 

Optimisation of food crops for non-food use may introduce features that make the crop unfit for human consumption. For instance, rapeseed (Brassica napus) optimised for biofuel production may contain high concentrations of erucic acid which are not desirable in food. Crops grown for the production of industrial chemicals, vaccines or pharmaceuticals may contain the respective chemical, vaccine or drug. Even if the FCNFU is not modified, its consumption may still pose a risk because the crop will probably not be monitored for natural and manmade contaminants like mycotoxins and pesticide residues.

 

This activity aims to provide recommendations for safety evaluation of FCNFU, and practical application of these scientific recommendations for the purpose of managing co-existence situations (food crops for food use vs. modified food crops for non-food use) in the supply chain, ensuring consumer protection and food safety. This might include an inventory of FCNFU, including processing of waste streams for feed (and perhaps food ingredients). 

Sustainable Water Management for Crops

 

Agriculture is the world’s largest water user. For decades, it has been responsible for the withdrawal of about 70% of all fresh water consumed worldwide. Global water consumption rose six-fold between 1900 and 1995 –more than double the rate of population growth– and continues to grow rapidly as agricultural, industrial, and domestic demand increases. In particular, agriculture is projected to require 17% more water to meet the demands of the growing population by 2025.

 

The objective of the project is to identify the environmental water impact of crops used for the production of vegetable oils, to analyse the sustainability of these crops in various areas of origin and to suggest potential ways to improve their sustainability.

  • The first step will be to evaluate the current situation for water demand per ton/acre of the relevant crops.
  • The second step will be to compare the actual situation and future scenarios in respect of environmental sustainability of different crop/region combinations.
  • The third step will be to outline the future perspectives on water availability.
  • The final step will be to produce a list of crops that can be used for vegetable oils and a best practices guidance document for improving the environmental sustainability of these crops in various areas of the world.

Water Safety and the Food Chain

The WHO Guidelines for drinking water quality set microbial and chemical quality targets for potable water. Water as used by industry is currently classified as either potable or non-potable. One can argue that what is important is suitability for intended use, e.g. there is no need to wash the beets delivered to a sugar plant with drinking water. Therefore, an expert group prepared an outline for a conceptual framework to evaluate the safety of water required to achieve fitness for purpose. They elaborated a risk assessment-based framework compatible with current HACCP protocols to optimise water use and to assess the potential impact of changes in water quality on food production/processing.

 

The report, published in the ILSI Europe Report Series in April 2008, can be downloaded here.

Task Force Collaborators

 

Members - 2009

Dr. Helen David         - Chair -

Unilever

UK

 

 

 

Dr. Ivo Brants

Monsanto

BE

Prof. Colin Brown

University of York

UK

Dr. António M. Calado

H. J. Heinz

PT

Dr. John Fawell

Consultant

UK

Dr. Malyka Galay Burgos

European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC)

BE

Dr. Thomas Ingermann

Kraft Foods

DE

Dr. Regina Oberdörfer

Bayer CropScience BioScience

DE

Mr. Klaus Stadler

Coca- Cola Europe

BE

 

 

 

Dr. Laura Contor

ILSI Europe

BE

Mr. Alessandro Chiodini

ILSI Europe

BE

Ms. Ria Dewit

ILSI Europe

BE

 

Expert Group on Food Crops for Non-food Use

Mr. David Turley       - Chair -

Central Science Laboratory

UK

 

 

 

  Dr. Teresa Babuscio   COCERAL        BE

Dr. Ivo Brants

Monsanto

BE

Dr. Helen David

Unilever

UK

Mrs. Betina Jahn

SGS Germany

DE

Dr. Regina Oberdörfer

Bayer CropScience BioScience

DE

Dr. Patrick Rüdelsheim

Perseus

BE

 

 

 

Dr. Laura Contor

ILSI Europe

BE

Mr. Alessandro Chiodini

ILSI Europe

BE

 

Expert Group on Sustainable Water Management for Crops

Dr. John Fawell         - Chair -

Consultant

UK

 

 

 

Dr. Kabindra Adhikari*

European Commission, DG Joint Research Centre

IT

Dr. Ivo Brants

Monsanto

BE

Dr. António M. Calado

H. J. Heinz

PT

Prof. Ettore Capri

Catholic University of Piacenza

IT

Dr. Helen David

Unilever

UK

Mr. Thomas Ingermann

Kraft Foods

DE

Prof. Pavel Kabat

Wageningen University and Research Centre

NL

Dr. Pasquale Steduto*

Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO)

IT

Dr. David Wiberg

International Institute for applied Systems Analysis

AT

 

 

 

Dr. Laura Contor

ILSI Europe

BE

Mr. Alessandro Chiodini

ILSI Europe

BE

*  Observer

Publications

ILSI Europe Expert Group on Water Safety. Considering Water Quality for Use in the Food Industry. ILSI Europe Report Series 2008:1-44.

D. Schowanek, H. David et al. Probabilistic Risk Assessment for Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate (LAS) in Sewage Sludge Used on Agricultural Soil. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 2007;49:245-259.

D. Schowanek, R. Carr, et al. A Risk-Based Methodology for Deriving Quality Standards for Organic Contaminants in Sewage Sludge for Use in Agriculture – conceptual Framework. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 2004;40(3):227-251.

M. Hofer and L. Shuker. Assessing Health Risks from Environmental Exposure to Chemicals: The Example of Drinking Water. ILSI Europe Report Series 2002:1-23.

P. Calow et al., Guest Editors. Assessing and Controlling Industrial Impacts on the Aquatic Environment (with Reference to Food Processing). Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 2001;50(2):87-159. (Proceedings)

J. Solbé. Assessing and Controlling Industrial Impacts on the Aquatic Environment with Reference to Food Processing. ILSI Europe Report Series 2001:1-28. (Report)

D. Benford. Principles of Risk Assessment of Food and Drinking Water Related to Human Health. ILSI Europe Concise Monograph Series 2001:1-34.

G. Eisenbrand et al., Guest Editors. Assessing Health Risks from Environmental Exposure to Chemicals: the Example of Drinking Water. Food and Chemical Toxicology 2000;38(1):1-110. (Proceedings)

To download the poster of the task force, click here.

For more information, please contact: info@ilsieurope.be