Kirsten Pilegaard

Risk management and risk assessment of novel plant foods: concepts and principles.

Worldwide 30 food plants deliver 95% of human daily intake of plant food calories and around 300 other plant species are delivering the last 5%. These some 300 food plants are likely to be considered traditional in Europe, while the nearly 7000 other plant species traditionally used in the human food supply in other parts of the world may be considered novel in Europe. Novel food regulation is already in force in the European Community, Australia/New Zealand and in Canada where the novel plant foods need to go through a premarket assessment procedure. This paper propose criteria and definitions to be used in determining novelty of a plant food and also propose a safety assessment approach for novel plant food with no or limited documented history of safe consumption. A 2-step management procedure is recommended for a smooth introduction of fruits and vegetables; first to establish the novelty and second to define and commit resources for the safety assessment. The procedure builds upon the use of a worldwide network of global, regional, local and ethnobotanical positive lists for food plants to guide the decision on novelty at the first step and to enable the safety assessment at the second step.

Failure of the cultivated mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) to induce tumors in the A/J mouse lung tumor model.

We studied whether the cultivated mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) or 4-(carboxy)phenylhydrazine (CP) induce lung adenomas in the A/J mouse lung tumor model. For 26 weeks female mice were fed a semisynthetic diet where 11 or 22% of the diet was replaced by freeze-dried mushrooms. The intake of the mushroom diets was equivalent to an intake of agaritine, the major phenylhydrazine derivative occurring in the mushroom, of 92 or 166 mg/kg body weight per day. The intake of CP was 106 mg/kg body weight per day. Neither the freeze-dried mushroom nor CP induced statistically significant increased numbers of lung adenomas in female A/J mice in the administered dosages.

Raspberry ketone in food supplements – High intake, few toxicity data – A cause for safety concern?

Raspberry ketone (4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone) is marketed on the Internet as a food supplement. The recommended intake is between 100 and 1400 mg per day. The substance is naturally occurring in raspberries (up to 4.3 mg/kg) and is used as a flavouring substance. Toxicological studies on raspberry ketone are limited to acute and subchronic studies in rats. When the lowest recommended daily dose of raspberry ketone (100 mg) as a food supplement is consumed, it is 56 times the established threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) of 1800 μg/day for Class 1 substances. The margin of safety (MOS) based on a NOAEL of 280 mg/kg bw/day for lower weight gain in rats is 165 at 100 mg and 12 at 1400 mg. The recommended doses are a concern taking into account the TTC and MOS. Investigations of raspberry ketone in quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models indicated potential cardiotoxic effects and potential effects on reproduction/development. Taking into account the high intake via supplements, the compounds toxic potential should be clarified with further experimental studies. In UK the pure compound is regarded as novel food requiring authorisation prior to marketing but raspberry ketone is not withdrawn from Internet sites from this country.

Effect of rapeseed oil-derived plant sterol and stanol esters on atherosclerosis parameters in cholesterol-challenged heterozygous Watanabe Heritable Hyperlipidaemic rabbits

Rapeseed oil (RSO) is a novel source of plant sterols, containing the unique brassicasterol in concentrations higher than allowed for plant sterol blends in food products in the European Union. Effects of RSO sterols and stanols on aortic atherosclerosis were studied in cholesterol-fed heterozygous Watanabe heritable hyperlipidaemic (Hh-WHHL) rabbits. Four groups (n 18 per group) received a cholesterol-added (2 g/kg) standard chow or this diet with added RSO stanol esters (17 g/kg), RSO stanol esters (34 g/kg) or RSO sterol esters (34 g/kg) for 18 weeks. Feeding RSO stanol esters increased plasma campestanol (P < 0.001) and sitostanol (P < 0.001) and aortic campestanol (P < 0.05) compared with controls. Feeding RSO sterol esters increased concentrations of plasma campesterol (P < 0.001), sitosterol (P < 0.001) and brassicasterol (P < 0.001) and aortic campesterol (P < 0.01). Significantly lower plasma cholesterol (P < 0.001) was recorded in the treated groups after 3 weeks and throughout the study. LDL-cholesterol was reduced 50 % in the high-dose RSO sterol ester (P < 0.01) and high-dose RSO stanol ester (P < 0.001) groups compared with controls. Atherosclerotic lesions were found in three rabbits in each of the RSO stanol ester groups and in one in the RSO sterol ester group. Aortic cholesterol was decreased in the treated groups (P < 0.001) in response to lowering of plasma cholesterol induced by RSO sterol and stanol esters. In conclusion, RSO stanol and sterol esters with a high concentration of brassicasterol were well tolerated. They were hypocholesterolaemic and inhibited experimental atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed Hh-WHHL rabbits. A significant uptake of plant sterols into the blood and incorporation of campesterol and campestanol into aortic tissue was recorded.

Risk assessment and risk management of novel plant foods: Concepts and principles

Novel food regulation is already in force in the European Community, Australia/New Zealand and in Canada. These regulations distinguish between traditional plant foods and novel plant foods, as the ...

Information on plant foods in eBASIS: what is in a correct botanical scientific name?

This paper presents the plant information included in the eBASIS (BioActive Substances in Foods Information System) database on composition and biological activity of selected bioactive compounds from European plant/mushroom foods with putative beneficial and/or toxic effects. The European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR)-NETTOX Plant List (2007) presents scientific and vernacular names in 15 European languages for around 325 major European plant/mushroom foods and also for different parts of these foods. This list and its predecessor, the NETTOX List of Food Plants, have been used by national food authorities and within the European Union for consideration of plants and mushrooms that have been used to a significant degree up to 1997 and are therefore not covered by the novel food regulation (European Parliament and Council of the European Union, 1997). The species and the plant part studied are insufficiently characterised in many scientific papers. This paper informs about the naming of plants and mushrooms as an aid for scientists who are not botanists or mycologists themselves. Knowledge on scientific names used, including synonyms, may also be important for finding all relevant papers when searching the literature. In many cases, vernacular/trivial names in, for example, English do not uniquely identify the species. Finally, recommendations are given to assist researchers and reviewers of papers dealing with botanical/mycological information.

Safety evaluation of plants collected from the wild served as food in Danish restaurants

DTU Orbit (03/08/2019) Safety evaluation of plants collected from the wild served as food in Danish restaurants Within the last decade the New Nordic Cuisine has received much media coverage. The restaurants have focused on increased use of locally grown plant food, including wild plants collected from the countryside. In addition, many cookbooks and guided nature walks have assisted interested consumers in the search for wild plants for culinary purposes. As part of a control campaign running from May–October 2016, the Danish food authorities investigated the use of plants picked from the wild, cultivated in private gardens or market gardens in restaurants and local food producers. Here we present examples of safety evaluations of some of the 50 plant species identified from this campaign based on published phytochemical investigations and toxicological data in humans. In the period from February to October, 2017, searches were performed in databases on bibliographic information using the preferred scientific name, and if relevant also synonyms. The full scientific papers were obtained if abstracts described ethnobotanical studies on food use in European countries prior to 15 May 1997 (the date the first novel food regulation came into force), constituents (especially if toxicological relevant), experimental laboratory animal studies on the toxicological effects of the plants, or cases of intoxications in humans or animals exposed to the individual plants. For the majority of the plants no or very limited phytochemical and safety information were available. Additionally, we found that of the 50 plants reviewed almost half contained compounds with toxic or potentially toxic effects if eaten. For many of the remaining plants, the data was insufficient to establish a safe edible amount. Many of the species may be considered novel food according to the EU regulation, since a food use to a significant degree in EU member states prior to 15 May 1997 could not be established. This review has demonstrated a strong need for better information on novel food status and safety of plants picked from the wild or plants previously mainly cultivated e.g. for ornamental use but now introduced as food, so that food producers, chefs and writers of cookbooks also in future have a stronger attention on whether the plants are safe to eat.

Alkaloids in edible lupin seeds

The report reviews the toxicity data on inherent natural toxicants in lupin seeds, especially quinolizidin alkaloids. Lupin seeds are increasingly used in the Nordic countries, partially substituting wheat flour in certain foods. An estimation of the risk by consuming foods containing lupin seeds in the Nordic countries and recommendations to better ensure the safe use of these seeds in foods are given.