van der Fels-Klerx H J, van Asselt E D, Berendsen B, Focker M F
Wageningen Food Safety Research, Wageningen, Netherlands.
NPJ Sci Food. 2024 Jun 19;8(1):36. doi: 10.1038/s41538-024-00276-9.
In order to minimise food waste, side streams from feed and food production are increasingly being (re-) used in food supply chains. Such reuse contributes to the desire to implement circularity in food and agricultural systems. However, the reuse of side products in circular food systems may impact food safety, for instance, contaminant residues present at low levels in biomass may accumulate when reusing streams. In order to assess potential food safety issues related to circular food systems, a framework has been developed in this study. Based on this framework, appropriate actions can be taken to prevent from human health risks. The framework consists of three steps: 1. Describing the changes in the food supply chain as a result of the circularity transition; 2. Identifying potential food safety hazards related to the change; and 3. Prioritising food safety hazards related to the circularity transition. For the prioritisation, both the presence of the hazards in final foods and the effects of the hazards on human health need to be assessed. Persistence of the hazard in the environment and potential transfer from the environment to the final food product are relevant elements to include. The framework was tested in three case studies, showing that it allows for a prioritisation between hazards. Based on the case study results, circularity not so much influences the health effects of the hazards, but rather their presence depending on the persistence and transfer of food safety hazards in a circular system.
为了尽量减少食物浪费，饲料和食品生产过程中的副产品正越来越多地被（重新）用于食品供应链。这种再利用有助于在食品和农业系统中实现循环利用的目标。然而，循环食品系统中副产品的再利用可能会影响食品安全，例如，生物质中低含量存在的污染物残留可能会在再利用过程中积累。为了评估与循环食品系统相关的潜在食品安全问题，本研究制定了一个框架。基于该框架，可以采取适当行动以防止对人类健康造成风险。该框架包括三个步骤：1. 描述由于循环转型导致的食品供应链变化；2. 识别与这些变化相关的潜在食品安全危害；3. 对与循环转型相关的食品安全危害进行优先级排序。对于优先级排序，需要评估危害在最终食品中的存在情况以及危害对人类健康的影响。危害在环境中的持久性以及从环境到最终食品的潜在转移是需要考虑的相关因素。该框架在三个案例研究中进行了测试，结果表明它能够对危害进行优先级排序。根据案例研究结果，循环利用与其说是影响危害对健康的影响，不如说是取决于循环系统中食品安全危害的持久性和转移情况，从而影响危害的存在情况。
