Food toxicology

While the risk assessment of avoidable chemicals in food, such as food additives and pesticides, are stringently performed in the EU, risk assessments for natural toxins in food are still patchy. Food may contain a wide variety of natural toxins or compounds that may be of concern when exposure exceeds safe limits. These include natural food additives, mycotoxins like aflatoxin B1, phytoestrogens like (iso)flavones, glucosinolates/ isothiocyanates, furocoumarins, tropane alkaloids, phthalates and mineral oils (MOAH and MOHS). Our research on this topic is oriented at quantifying the levels of natural toxins in food products by advanced chemical analytical methods followed by toxicity testing using a suite of in vitro toxicity tests, thus providing regulatory agencies the much-needed mechanistic data to support their risk assessments.