L3 - Toxicology 1
, FHM61312
Lecture 3 - Toxicology 1
Food Safety Management | Period 6 | 2025-2026
● Lecture aim ● Hazardous agents
- Can be loud noises, radiation from the sun or from cell
- Need to understand the formulas for next lecture, so write
phones, toxic exhaust from cars, but also disease or
those down
parasites
- Toxicology usually associated with: chemicals, but can also
● Remember
be applied to biological or physical offsets.
● Hazardous chemicals in food
- Most important paradigm that we have is that the dose
makes the poison -> so anything we know is either toxic
or non-toxic, depending on the dose -> even something
like water, which we would all consider non-toxic - Unavoidable chemicals: cannot get rid of all of them in the
- If you drink enough water it becomes toxic food
- Toxicologists try to find out how much exposure is needed - Avoidable chemicals: we as humans intentionally put
to cause a toxic response -> if there is a toxic response, these in the foods (plant/animal)
then characterize it and find out the mechanisms - We see that these food contact materials where we see
that the chemicals that are in the plastic where food is in,
● Define risk assessment migrates into the food that we have to consider as well
- We also have novel foods, so anything that comes up on
the market, there’s always certain trends in food and diet
and lifestyle that we have to assess
● Risk assessment paradigm
- When we do risk assessment, one of the major principles
is that we see a relationship between the dose and the
response
- Low dose -> usually no response seen vice versa
- Since we are talking about biological systems -> dose
response relationships always follow the S-shaped curve
- So at the low dose -> we have a plateau because nothing
is happening -> it’s not enough to be toxic -> we reach the
plateau again when the response is at a maximum
- First hazard identification (is whatever I put/find in my
- Example -> study where you feed 100 animals more and
food toxic and is there a hazard?) -> characterization (at
more of your toxic compound -> at some point all of them
which exposure and concentrations or dose does this
are dead, so your response to death is at 100% and it
chemical or is this food additive toxic?) -> at the same
cannot go higher -> this is simply true for all biological
time an exposure assessment is being done (if the person
events, so you always see this dose response curve
has an average diet then how much is this person exposed
-
to the toxins in the food?) and risk characterization (some
point compare the hazard characterisation, so at what
1
, FHM61312
Lecture 3 - Toxicology 1
Food Safety Management | Period 6 | 2025-2026
point does something become toxic and how much are we
actually exposed to it, if its the same then we have a ● Genotoxicity
problem or if we’re exposed to more than what is toxic we
have a problem)
- If the exposure is so low, we don’t see a toxic response
and we’re good
- After risk characterization what follows is risk
management, so is there a risk? -> if yes, we have to
somehow manage it by changing legislation or giving
advice to consumers or the industry
- It is very important how we define a risk in this case ->
- Understand formula - If a compound is genotoxic, a lot of times it is also causing
cancer in humans
● Risk assessment paradigm - There are a few examples/outliers -> they are only
genotoxic but there’s not enough evidence to classify
them as carcinogenic in humans -> if we do risk
- If you have something really really hazardous/toxic but management of genotoxic carcinogenic compounds or
not exposed to it -> no risk avoidable compounds like food additives/flavours/stuff
- If something is a little toxic, but not really but you are still like this -> zero tolerance -> simply not allowed on the
exposed to it a lot -> there is still a risk market
● Risk assessment of Foodborne Chemicals ● Risk management genotoxic carcinogenic compounds
- Distinguish important -> risk assessment approach differs
quite a lot
- Non-genetoxic -> does not attack/change your DNA in cost
with patients or DNA strength rates -> usually not that bad
and you have a threshold when non-toxic/toxic -> this
approach is exposure-driven or we also use a margin of
safety approach
- Genotoxic -> potentially causing cancer by changing DNA -
> if added intentionally, so they are avoidable, they are
usually banned -> in the EU you cannot put a product on - Analytical methods to detect to detect genotoxic
the market that contains a genotoxic chemical that you compounds in general become better and better
added on purpose - In four years you can decrease the detection limit in 10-
- If it is unavoidable -> simply because of environmental fold -> so if you can now detect 10 picograms of a
pollution and it’s already everywhere and it accumulates compound of picomolar -> in four years you can detect
in the food -> we have the ALARA principle (as low as one and year after that 0.1 etc
reasonably achievable) -> try to push the exposure down - At some point you will find both the avoidable and
as far as possible by industrial processes/agricultural unavoidable genotoxic/non-genotoxic contaminants
procedures or something like this everywhere in food -> if you go down with your detection
- If avoidable -> MOE (margin of exposure approach) -> find level to one molecule -> at some point need to think
out what exposed to and what point does chemical cause about whether zero tolerance/risk approach feasible or do
cancer -> if there is a factor in between we consider it we need to start thinking in a different direction
either as somewhat safe and it has a low priority for risk
management or if the margin of exposure is quite low, it’s
a high priority and some legal actions need to be taken
2
, FHM61312
Lecture 3 - Toxicology 1
Food Safety Management | Period 6 | 2025-2026
● Mycotoxins as a notable example
● Table 3.4 The occurrence of aflatoxins in milk and dairy
products
- Most dangerous part is the toxins that these forms might
produce
● Aflatoxins
- Study looking at aflatoxins in food
- Especially milk derived products contain aflatoxins
- Can be virtually everywhere
● Zero risk becoming infeasible
- A lot of times found on peanuts, soybeans, rice, pepper or
corn and it’s not always visible -> doesn’t always look
mouldy -> however still this is a contaminant
● Aflatoxins
- Mycotoxins are unavoidable -> you will always have some
spores of this fungus
- Associated with liver cancer - Review they looked at the nano-based methods to detect
- Especially in regions in the world where this fungus has aflatoxins in samples -> here you can see the LOD (limit of
good conditions to grow and the way food is prepared or detection) -> might go down to pico molar levels or even
the culture might not be ideal -> see the incidence of low pico-molar, so you will always find a molecule of
cancer shoots up according to how much aflatoxins they aflatoxin somewhere
consume
● Risk Assessment of Aflatoxins
● International Agency for Research and Cancer
- Aflatoxins are put into group 1 of the IARC -> there is
sufficient evidence to say that these are carcinogenic in - BMDL10 -> the lower the confidence limit of the
humans and it’s one of the most potent carcinogens in benchmark dose -> 400 nanograms (ng) per kg/bw/day ->
group 1
3
, FHM61312
Lecture 3 - Toxicology 1
Food Safety Management | Period 6 | 2025-2026
● Lecture aim ● Hazardous agents
- Can be loud noises, radiation from the sun or from cell
- Need to understand the formulas for next lecture, so write
phones, toxic exhaust from cars, but also disease or
those down
parasites
- Toxicology usually associated with: chemicals, but can also
● Remember
be applied to biological or physical offsets.
● Hazardous chemicals in food
- Most important paradigm that we have is that the dose
makes the poison -> so anything we know is either toxic
or non-toxic, depending on the dose -> even something
like water, which we would all consider non-toxic - Unavoidable chemicals: cannot get rid of all of them in the
- If you drink enough water it becomes toxic food
- Toxicologists try to find out how much exposure is needed - Avoidable chemicals: we as humans intentionally put
to cause a toxic response -> if there is a toxic response, these in the foods (plant/animal)
then characterize it and find out the mechanisms - We see that these food contact materials where we see
that the chemicals that are in the plastic where food is in,
● Define risk assessment migrates into the food that we have to consider as well
- We also have novel foods, so anything that comes up on
the market, there’s always certain trends in food and diet
and lifestyle that we have to assess
● Risk assessment paradigm
- When we do risk assessment, one of the major principles
is that we see a relationship between the dose and the
response
- Low dose -> usually no response seen vice versa
- Since we are talking about biological systems -> dose
response relationships always follow the S-shaped curve
- So at the low dose -> we have a plateau because nothing
is happening -> it’s not enough to be toxic -> we reach the
plateau again when the response is at a maximum
- First hazard identification (is whatever I put/find in my
- Example -> study where you feed 100 animals more and
food toxic and is there a hazard?) -> characterization (at
more of your toxic compound -> at some point all of them
which exposure and concentrations or dose does this
are dead, so your response to death is at 100% and it
chemical or is this food additive toxic?) -> at the same
cannot go higher -> this is simply true for all biological
time an exposure assessment is being done (if the person
events, so you always see this dose response curve
has an average diet then how much is this person exposed
-
to the toxins in the food?) and risk characterization (some
point compare the hazard characterisation, so at what
1
, FHM61312
Lecture 3 - Toxicology 1
Food Safety Management | Period 6 | 2025-2026
point does something become toxic and how much are we
actually exposed to it, if its the same then we have a ● Genotoxicity
problem or if we’re exposed to more than what is toxic we
have a problem)
- If the exposure is so low, we don’t see a toxic response
and we’re good
- After risk characterization what follows is risk
management, so is there a risk? -> if yes, we have to
somehow manage it by changing legislation or giving
advice to consumers or the industry
- It is very important how we define a risk in this case ->
- Understand formula - If a compound is genotoxic, a lot of times it is also causing
cancer in humans
● Risk assessment paradigm - There are a few examples/outliers -> they are only
genotoxic but there’s not enough evidence to classify
them as carcinogenic in humans -> if we do risk
- If you have something really really hazardous/toxic but management of genotoxic carcinogenic compounds or
not exposed to it -> no risk avoidable compounds like food additives/flavours/stuff
- If something is a little toxic, but not really but you are still like this -> zero tolerance -> simply not allowed on the
exposed to it a lot -> there is still a risk market
● Risk assessment of Foodborne Chemicals ● Risk management genotoxic carcinogenic compounds
- Distinguish important -> risk assessment approach differs
quite a lot
- Non-genetoxic -> does not attack/change your DNA in cost
with patients or DNA strength rates -> usually not that bad
and you have a threshold when non-toxic/toxic -> this
approach is exposure-driven or we also use a margin of
safety approach
- Genotoxic -> potentially causing cancer by changing DNA -
> if added intentionally, so they are avoidable, they are
usually banned -> in the EU you cannot put a product on - Analytical methods to detect to detect genotoxic
the market that contains a genotoxic chemical that you compounds in general become better and better
added on purpose - In four years you can decrease the detection limit in 10-
- If it is unavoidable -> simply because of environmental fold -> so if you can now detect 10 picograms of a
pollution and it’s already everywhere and it accumulates compound of picomolar -> in four years you can detect
in the food -> we have the ALARA principle (as low as one and year after that 0.1 etc
reasonably achievable) -> try to push the exposure down - At some point you will find both the avoidable and
as far as possible by industrial processes/agricultural unavoidable genotoxic/non-genotoxic contaminants
procedures or something like this everywhere in food -> if you go down with your detection
- If avoidable -> MOE (margin of exposure approach) -> find level to one molecule -> at some point need to think
out what exposed to and what point does chemical cause about whether zero tolerance/risk approach feasible or do
cancer -> if there is a factor in between we consider it we need to start thinking in a different direction
either as somewhat safe and it has a low priority for risk
management or if the margin of exposure is quite low, it’s
a high priority and some legal actions need to be taken
2
, FHM61312
Lecture 3 - Toxicology 1
Food Safety Management | Period 6 | 2025-2026
● Mycotoxins as a notable example
● Table 3.4 The occurrence of aflatoxins in milk and dairy
products
- Most dangerous part is the toxins that these forms might
produce
● Aflatoxins
- Study looking at aflatoxins in food
- Especially milk derived products contain aflatoxins
- Can be virtually everywhere
● Zero risk becoming infeasible
- A lot of times found on peanuts, soybeans, rice, pepper or
corn and it’s not always visible -> doesn’t always look
mouldy -> however still this is a contaminant
● Aflatoxins
- Mycotoxins are unavoidable -> you will always have some
spores of this fungus
- Associated with liver cancer - Review they looked at the nano-based methods to detect
- Especially in regions in the world where this fungus has aflatoxins in samples -> here you can see the LOD (limit of
good conditions to grow and the way food is prepared or detection) -> might go down to pico molar levels or even
the culture might not be ideal -> see the incidence of low pico-molar, so you will always find a molecule of
cancer shoots up according to how much aflatoxins they aflatoxin somewhere
consume
● Risk Assessment of Aflatoxins
● International Agency for Research and Cancer
- Aflatoxins are put into group 1 of the IARC -> there is
sufficient evidence to say that these are carcinogenic in - BMDL10 -> the lower the confidence limit of the
humans and it’s one of the most potent carcinogens in benchmark dose -> 400 nanograms (ng) per kg/bw/day ->
group 1
3
