The European Agency for Food Safety (EFSA in its acronym in English) warned this Tuesday of the risks to public health due to the presence of nitrosamines in food.
EFSA – based in Parma (Italy) and made by scientists – has published an assessment of the risk to public health (human or animal) associated with the presence of nitrosamines in food, a chemical substance found in tobacco products, but also in food, cocoa or beer.
The food authority concluded that the level of exposure to these substances in food “poses a health issue for all age groups of the population of the European Union (EU)”.
Ten nitrosamines present in food are carcinogenic (they can cause cancer) and genotoxic (they can damage DNA), according to the conclusions of the reports, released in the release.
From animal studies, scientists have found that the incidence of liver tumors in rodents is the most harmful health effect.
However, EFSA developed “a strong case scenario” and found that all nitrosamines in food had the same potential to cause cancer in humans as the most destructive nitrosamine, “although this is unlikely”, according to it.
Nitrosamines are detected in cured meats, fish, cooks, beer and other alcoholic beverages, but the group that contributes most to the exposure of these substances is food and its derivatives, according to the same source.
They can also be present in other foods, such as vegetables, cereals, milk and milk, or fermented, brought, or seasoned.
Currently, there are some “gaps” in knowledge about the presence of nitrosamines in certain types of food and, according to EFSA, a diet with greater variety can help reduce the intake of these substances.
EFSA’s decision will be shared with the European Commission, which will discuss with national authorities what risk management measures are needed.
For its part, the Valencian research center Ainia shows that the concern of these chemical components is not new and that the EU has long regulated and limited the presence of nitrosamines in paints, sports, nipples or pacifiers.
In the food field, according to Ainia, there are investigations on the relationship with the use of nitrites and nitrites in the preparation of cured meats, although other foods have been examined and the revision of the laws on additives cannot be excluded, in. reports that EFSA s.
