Database of processing techniques and processing factors compatible with the EFSA food classification and description system FoodEx 2

Abstract

EFSA is conducting pan‐European dietary exposure and risk assessments related to actual levels of pesticide residues in food commodities. These assessments use the pesticide occurrence data generated under the official monitoring programs of Member States, the consumption data from EFSA's comprehensive food consumption database and pesticide‐specific information such as processing factors. Currently no harmonised list of processing factors is available within Europe and worldwide. The overall objective of this project is to develop a database of validated processing factors based on the residue definitions for enforcement, which is compatible with the EFSA food classification and description system FoodEx 2. In the first part of the project, a compendium of representative processing techniques is elaborated as a standard description of all relevant processes and basis for validation of processing studies. The compendium of processing techniques is built upon a selection of representative and up‐to‐date processing studies submitted in the context of regulatory procedures for plant protection products. It covers the most important processes in food processing, both with respect to importance in consumption and production. Though not really considered as processing operations, peeling and pitting procedures are included in this compendium. For each process, a typical set of processing conditions is provided based on published literature and/or inquiry in the food processing industry. Detailed descriptions of processing conditions and yield factors for the processes are given. The processes are visualised in flowcharts. Processing studies are conducted on a very limited number of representative commodities. Extrapolation proposals are made based on the comparability of processing conditions, the plant anatomy and the plant part to be processed.

Database of processing techniques and processing factors compatible with the EFSA food classification and description system FoodEx 2 Objective 3: European database of processing factors for pesticides in food

“…If available, suitable studies taken from the BfR data pool were employed instead. Moreover, for some processes which have been considered as relevant in food processing as an outcome of the first objective of the project (Scholz, 2018), no study was available to EFSA and this lack of data was balanced by including suitable studies from the BfR data pool.…”

“…It should be noted, that processing studies are normally conducted with only a small selection of different commodities, focussing on major crops with respect to cultivation area, consumption and relevance for a certain processing operation. Thus, the study pool does not cover all commodities mentioned in Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 and considerations on extrapolation were made to cope with this situation (Scholz, 2018).…”

“…The entries are restricted to those matrices representing either an end-product used as food or feed or an important intermediate product, because only for those products processing factors are required. These three classes of relevant matrices were highlighted (coloured) in the processing flowcharts provided as an outcome of the first objective of the project (Scholz, 2018) and were selected for FoodEx 2 coding in the context of the second objective of the project . It should be noted, that the number of end-products used as food or feed or of important intermediate products which have been described and coded in the Reports on Objectives 1 and 2 is higher than the number of such products on which the database reports.…”

Database of processing techniques and processing factors compatible with the EFSA food classification and description system FoodEx2 related to pesticide residues Objective 2: Linking the processing techniques investigated in regulatory studies with the EFSA food classification and description system, FoodEx2

“…• Objective 2: Linking the processing techniques investigated in regulatory studies to the EFSA food classification and description system FoodEx2 The 'Compendium of representative processing techniques' is the outcome of Objective 1 of the project (Scholz et al, 2018). This outcome is used as input for objective 2.…”

“…Default dehydration factors describing concentration of residues based on differences in moisture content between the RPC and the processed commodity can be found in the compendium derived under Objective 1. Pesticide-commodity specific processing factors for drying that describe the concentration change of residues during drying are compiled in the database derived under Objective 3 (Scholz, 2018).…”