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The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a new draft guidance on allergenicity testing of genetically modified (GM) plants and is permitting interested parties to comment on the guidance until September 25, 2016[1].  The draft guidance reflects new methodologies that could be applied in allergenicity assessment and recent EU legislation on GM food which mandates inclusion of analyses for certain allergens in the compositional analysis of genetically modified crops

Demand for dietary and nutritional supplements worldwide continues to increase, with steady growth in the established markets and more rapid growth in emerging markets. The annual growth rate of dietary supplements in the U.S. was 7.1% between 2008 and 2012. According to one survey, the U.S. and Asia lead the world in supplement usage, with 54% of North Americans consuming a supplement and 43% of Asians consuming a supplement. In another survey, the U.S. was the largest marke

With today’s focus on “clean” labels, food manufacturers are replacing artificial colors with colors from “natural” sources. Some of these substances have perceived health benefits or may act as food preservatives, increasing the potential for consumer over exposure. A substance that has been determined safe for one purpose, at one level of use, is not necessarily safe for additional uses either because of increased acute exposure or frequent/repeated exposures that may have

Nickel is a natural element of the earth’s crust and is found in food, water, soil, and air. Surprisingly, food is the major source of nickel exposure, with an average intake for adults estimated to be approximately 100 to 300 µg/day (1), or 1.6 – 5.0 µg/kg body weight (bw)/day based on a 60 kg body weight. Major food sources of nickel include grains and grain products, vegetables, meat, poultry, nuts, legumes, sweeteners and chocolate (2). The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s)