Metabolomics in chemical risk analysis – A review

Abstract

Food safety has become a major issue worldwide and, in particular, detecting the presence of toxins, contaminants or residues of chemical substances along the food chain and in fine in foods constitutes a strong consumers demand. In general, all these substances and the corresponding metabolites of interest are analyzed using efficient targeted methodologies. However, in some cases these targeted approaches do not allow the detection of emerging compounds or practices, and therefore new approaches and strategies are required. Thus, the study of physiological perturbations induced by exposure to a given chemical substance has emerged as an interesting alternative approach to apply in chemical food safety.This review focuses on describing significant applications of metabolomics in the field of risk analysis from a chemical food safety perspective. The different risk assessment steps, including hazard identification, doseresponse assessment and exposure assessment, and risk management are addressed through various examples to illustrate that such an approach is fit-for-purpose and meets the expectations and requirements of chemical risk analysis. It can be considered as an innovative tool for predicting the probable occurrence and nature of risks, while addressing the current challenges of chemical risk analysis (e.g. replacement, reduction and refinement (3R) of animal testing, effects of exposure to chemical mixtures at low doses, etc.), and with the aim of responding to global food safety issues and anticipating human health problems.

Assessing human exposure to pesticides and mycotoxins: optimization and validation of a method for multianalyte determination in urine samples

“…Biomonitoring studies are increasingly performed in combination with non-targeted metabolomics studies in an effort to link exposure and health outcomes [ 12 ]. However, there is a high risk of loss of exposure data when following this approach, as contaminants are typically found at very low concentrations compared to endogenous compounds (1000 times lower in some cases) [ 13 ].…”

Recent Advances in the Detection of Food Toxins Using Mass Spectrometry

“…Recent advances and innovations in instrumentation, such as the development of high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), have significantly improved sensitivity and selectivity, allowing for the detection of food toxins at ultralow levels . Additionally, several ionization methods allow rapid in situ analysis, reducing the time and resources required for analysis. , Further, advancement in the field of untargeted metabolomics and several web-based repositories of metabolites allows for the detection of not only the known toxin but also the unknown variants of toxins, broadening our understanding of potential hazards in the food supply chain. , The current review summarizes the overview of available detection techniques of food toxins and then further elaborates on the MS-based approaches, their benefits and drawbacks, and how they are used in various food matrices. We will also go over the difficulties in applying MS-based techniques to routine food safety monitoring as well as the potential of this technology to protect public health and global food security.…”

“… 45 , 46 Further, advancement in the field of untargeted metabolomics and several web-based repositories of metabolites allows for the detection of not only the known toxin but also the unknown variants of toxins, broadening our understanding of potential hazards in the food supply chain. 47 , 48 The current review summarizes the overview of available detection techniques of food toxins and then further elaborates on the MS-based approaches, their benefits and drawbacks, and how they are used in various food matrices. We will also go over the difficulties in applying MS-based techniques to routine food safety monitoring as well as the potential of this technology to protect public health and global food security.…”