efsa-opinion-chromium-food-drinking-water

Chromium in food and drinking water
hexavalent chromium, the transit of chromium through the GI tract prior to absorption, and the
efficiency of Cr(VI) reduction at the low human exposure levels as compared to the high dose levels
used in the rodent bioassay. This adds considerably to the overall uncertainty of the risk assessment of
ingested hexavalent chromium
9.5. Summary of uncertainties
Summaries of the uncertainty evaluations for Cr(III) and Cr(VI) highlighting the main sources of
uncertainty and indicating an estimate of whether the respective source of uncertainty might have led
to an over- or underestimation of the exposure or the resulting risk are presented in Table 26 and Table
27, respectively.
Trivalent chromium in food
Table 26: Summary of qualitative evaluation of the impact of uncertainties on the risk assessment of
the dietary exposure of Cr(III) in food.
Sources of uncertainty
Direction
Measurement uncertainty of analytical results
+/- (a)
Extrapolation of occurrence data from mainly one Member States to the whole of Europe +/-
Use of lower bound and upper bound occurrence data in the dietary exposure estimations +/-
Possible use of occurrence data from targeted sampling +
Use of different dilution factors on the occurrence data to calculate exposure +/-
Limited data on exposure for specific groups (vegetarians, consumers of supplements) +/-
Limited information on exposure of infants +/-
Influence of food preparation with stainless steel on Cr(III) concentration -
Exposure from human milk based on limited data +/-
Insufficient data on developmental and reproductive toxicity +/-
(a): +: uncertainty with potential to cause over-estimation of exposure/risk; -: uncertainty with potential to cause
under-estimation of exposure/risk
The CONTAM Panel concluded that the impact of the uncertainties on the risk assessment of
exposure to Cr(III) in food is large.
Hexavalent chromium in drinking water
Table 27: Summary of qualitative evaluation of the impact of uncertainties on the risk assessment of
the exposure of Cr(VI) in water intended for human consumption and mineral waters.
Sources of uncertainty
Direction
Measurement uncertainty of analytical results
+/- (a)
Extrapolation of occurrence data from mainly one Member State to the whole of Europe +/-
Use of lower bound and upper bound occurrence data in the exposure estimations +/-
Possible use of occurrence data from targeted sampling +
Cr(VI) levels obtained from the analysis of a very limited number samples and covering only +/-
bottled water
Limited information on exposure of infants +/-
Assuming that all chromium in water is Cr(VI) +
Assuming that no Cr(VI) is present in food, including beverages -
Insufficient data on the impact of exposure from smoking to the dietary exposure -
Uncertainty on the level of reduction and absorption of Cr(VI) in GI tract in humans as +/-
compared to rodents
Uncertainty on the efficiency of Cr(VI) reduction at the low dose human exposure levels as +
compared to the high dose levels used in the rodent bioassay.
Combined incidence of adenoma and carcinoma in the small intestine for the MOE +
calculations
(a): +: uncertainty with potential to cause over-estimation of exposure/risk; -: uncertainty with potential to cause
under-estimation of exposure/risk
EFSA Journal 2014;12(3):3595 120