Transfer of chemicals from feed to animal products; the use of transfer factors in risk assessment.

Winfried R Leeman (1) , Kor van den Berg (1) , Geert Houben (1)

1 Food & Chemical Risk Analysis

The human risk assessment of feed contaminants has often been hampered by a lack of knowledge on their behavior when consumed by livestock. To gain a better understanding on the transfer of contaminants from animal feed to animal products, a meta-analysis of public literature was made. Data concerning feed contaminant concentrations, feeding periods, residue levels in animal products, and other parameters, were gathered and recorded. For each case a “transfer factor”, defined as the ratio of the concentration of a chemical in an animal product to the concentration of the chemical in animal feed, was calculated. Scientifically founded transfer factors were calculated and analyzed for groups of chemicals based on their contaminant classes or physico-chemical properties. These database-derived transfer factors enable a more accurate risk assessment in case of a feed contamination, and enable rapid risk management decision-making and/or intervention.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Winfried R Leeman, Kor van den Berg, Geert Houben. Transfer of chemicals from feed to animal products; the use of transfer factors in risk assessment.. Food Additives and Contaminants, 2007, 24 (01), pp.1-13. ⟨10.1080/02652030600815512⟩. ⟨hal-00577365⟩