Developing a framework for open and FAIR data management practices for next generation risk- and benefit assessment of fish and seafood.

Risk and risk-benefit assessments of food are complex exercises, in which access to and use of several disconnected individual stand-alone databases is required to obtain hazard and exposure information. Data obtained from such databases ideally should be in line with the FAIR principles, i.e. the data must be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. However, often cases are encountered when one or more of these principles are not followed. In this project, we set out to assess if existing commonly used databases in risk assessment are in line with the FAIR principles. We also investigated how access, interoperability and reusability of data could be improved. We used the OpenFoodTox and the Seafood database as examples and showed how commonly used freely available open-source tools and repositories can be implemented in the data extraction process of risk assessments to increase data reusability and crosstalk across different databases.

A ranking method of chemical substances in foods for prioritisation of monitoring, based on health risk and knowledge gaps.

Chemical contaminants are present in all foods. Data on the occurrence of contaminants in foods that are often consumed or contain high contaminant concentrations are critical for the estimation of exposure and evaluation of potential negative health effects. Due to limited resources for the monitoring of contaminants and other chemical substances in foods, methods for prioritisation are needed. We have developed a straightforward semi-quantitative method to rank chemical substances in foods for monitoring as part of a risk-based food control. The method is based on considerations of toxicity, level of exposure including both occurrence in food and dietary intake, vulnerability of one or more population groups due to high exposure because of special food habits or resulting from specific genetic variants, diseases, drug use or age/life stages, and the adequacy of both toxicity and exposure data. The chemical substances ranked for monitoring were contaminants occurring naturally, unintentionally or incidentally in foods or formed during food processing, and the inclusion criteria were high toxicity, high exposure and/or lack of toxicity or exposure data. In principle, this method can be used for all classes of chemical substances that occur in foods, both unintended contaminants and deliberately added chemical substances. Foods considered relevant for monitoring of the different chemical substances were also identified. The outcomes of ranking exercises using the new method including considerations of vulnerable groups and adequacy of data and a shortened version based on risk considerations only were compared. The results showed that the resolution between the contaminants was notably increased with the extended method, which we considered as advantageous for the ranking of chemical substances for monitoring in foods.

Hypotheses and evidence related to intense sweeteners and effects on appetite and body weight changes: A scoping review of reviews.

Observed associations between consumption of diet foods and obesity have sparked controversy over whether intense sweeteners may promote weight gain, despite their negligible energy contribution. We conducted a scoping review of reviews, to obtain an overview of hypotheses, research approaches and features of the evidence on intense sweeteners' potential relationships to appetite and weight changes. We searched for reviews of the scientific literature published from 2006 to May 2017. Two reviewers independently assessed title and abstracts, and full text publications. Arksey and O'Malley's framework for scoping reviews guided the process. We extracted and charted data on characteristics of the reviews and the evidence presented. The 40 included reviews present hypotheses both on how intense sweeteners can reduce or maintain body weight and on how these can promote weight gain. We classified only five publications as systematic reviews; another nine presented some systematic approaches, while 26 reviews did not describe criteria for selecting or assessing the primary studies. Evidence was often presented for intense sweeteners as a group or unspecified, and against several comparators (e.g. sugar, water, placebo, intake levels) with limited discussion on the interpretation of different combinations. Apart from the observational studies, the presented primary evidence in humans is dominated by small studies with short follow-up-considered insufficient to assess weight change. Systematic reviews of animal studies are lacking in this topic area. The systematic evidence only partly explore forwarded hypotheses found in the literature. Primary studies in humans seem to be available for systematic exploration of some hypotheses, but long-term experimental studies in humans appear sparse. With few exceptions, the reviews on intense sweeteners and weight change underuse systematic methodology, and thus, the available evidence. Further studies and systematic reviews should be explicit about the hypothesis explored and elucidate possible underlying mechanisms.

Dental monomers inhibit LPS-induced cytokine release from the macrophage cell line RAW264.7.

Methacrylate monomers have been identified in aqueous extracts of freshly cured dental fillings. The hypothesis tested presently was that low concentrations of triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) alone or in combination interfere with the LPS-induced release of cytokines from the macrophage cell line RAW264.7. The cells were exposed to 5-200 µM of monomers for 24 h followed by a 24 h combined exposure to monomers and LPS. TEGDMA reduced LPS-induced release of interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), whereas HEMA only reduced IL-1ß release. Co-exposure to the two monomers indicated an additive effect. Moreover, the reduced cytokine release persisted for 24 h after termination of the monomer exposure. The LPS-induced activation of proteins in pre-transcriptional signaling pathways (CD14, p-ERK1/2, p-p38, p-JNK, p-IκB-α and p-NFκB-p65) was not altered by monomer exposure, neither were the levels of IL-1ß and TNF-α mRNA. However, the LPS-induced level of pro-IL-1ß was decreased by the monomer treatment. Thus, HEMA and TEGDMA may interfere with post-transcriptional regulation of synthesis and release of these cytokines. Overall, the results suggest that low concentrations of monomers may cause impaired macrophage responses, and that these effects can persist for up to 24 h after exposure.