Qualified presumption of safety (QPS): a generic risk assessment approach for biological agents notified to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

Leuschner, Renata; Robinson, Tobin; Hugas, Marta; Cocconcelli, Pier Sandro; Richard‐Forget, Florence; Klein, Günter; Licht, Tine Rask; Nguyen-Thé, Christophe; Querol, Amparo; Richardson, Malcolm

doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2010.07.003

Cited by 146 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Bacterial hazards (and their toxins) for humans and animals related to insects will therefore mainly originate from a residential microbiota (natural or accidental) related to the rearing conditions (substrates and feed), handling, processing and preservation (ANSES, 2015). Many pathogens are used in biocontrol of insect pests and are either generally regarded as safe (GRAS) in North America or are QPS (qualified presumption of safety) in Europe, when intentionally added to food or feed for this purpose (Sundh et al, 2012;Leuschner et al, 2010). Those, that are not, are tested specifically and individually for the presence of toxins or other metabolic compounds and their safety for humans and animals prior to use.…”

Section: 11mentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk profile related to production and consumption of insects as food and feed

2015

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The present opinion has the format of a risk profile and presents potential biological and chemical hazards as well as allergenicity and environmental hazards associated with farmed insects used as food and feed taking into account of the entire chain, from farming to the final product. The opinion also addresses the occurrence of these hazards in non-processed insects, grown on different substrate categories, in comparison to the occurrence of these hazards in other non-processed sources of protein of animal origin. When currently allowed feed materials are used as substrate to feed insects, the possible occurrence of microbiological hazards is expected to be comparable to their occurrence in other nonprocessed sources of protein of animal origin. The possible occurrence of prions in non-processed insects will depend on whether the substrate includes protein of human or ruminant origin. Data on transfer of chemical contaminants from different substrates to the insects are very limited. Substrates like kitchen waste, human and animal manure are also considered and hazards from insects fed on these substrates need to be specifically assessed. It is concluded that for both biological and chemical hazards, the specific production methods, the substrate used, the stage of harvest, the insect species and developmental stage, as well as the methods for further processing will all have an impact on the occurrence and levels of biological and chemical contaminants in food and feed products derived from insects. Hazards related to the environment are expected to be comparable to other animal production systems. The opinion also identifies the uncertainties (lack of knowledge) related to possible hazards when insects are used as food and feed and notes that there are no systematically collected data on animal and human consumption of insects. Studies on the occurrence of microbial pathogens of vertebrates as well as published data on hazardous chemicals in reared insects are scarce. Further data generation on these issues are highly recommended. Risk profile related to production and consumption of insects as food and feed EFSA Scientific Committee AbstractThe present opinion has the format of a risk profile and presents potential biological and chemical hazards as well as allergenicity and environmental hazards associated with farmed insects used as food and feed taking into account of the entire chain, from farming to the final product. The opinion also addresses the occurrence of these hazards in non-processed insects, grown on different substrate categories, in comparison to the occurrence of these hazards in other non-processed sources of protein of animal origin. When currently allowed feed materials are used as substrate to feed insects, the possible occurrence of microbiological hazards is expected to be comparable to their occurrence in other non-processed sources of protein of animal origin. The possible occurrence of prions in nonprocessed insects will depend on whether the substrate includes protein ...

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Section: 11mentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk profile related to production and consumption of insects as food and feed

2015

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“…In addition, baculoviruses have recently been included in the qualified presumption of safety (QPS) list authorized by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (Leuschner et al, 2010) panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) (EFSA, 2009). Following a review of literature, EFSA concluded that baculoviruses are safe for animal and human consumption and are, therefore, acceptable for use in the control of insects that cause damage to plants (EFSA, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The scientific literature on the health and environmental safety of baculoviruses is extensive and has been well reviewed (see reviews by Black et al, 1997;Burges et al, 1980aBurges et al, , 1980bGröner, 1986;Ignoffo, 1975;OECD, 2002) and more recently by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (McWilliam, 2007) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (EFSA, 2009;Leuschner et al, 2010). The host range of baculoviruses is restricted to terrestrial arthropods (Barber et al, 1993;Doyle et al, 1990;Cory, 2003;Cory & Hails, 1997;Miller & Lu, 1997;Thiem & Cheng, 2009).…”

Section: Human Toxicity and Infectivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Baculoviruses are host specific, infecting only one or a few closely-related species, helping to make them good candidates for management of crop and forest insect pests with minimal off-target impacts (Cory, 2003;England et al, 2004;Hewson et al, 2011;Raymond et al, 2005). In fact, baculoviruses have been recognized as being amongst the safest of pesticides (Black et al, 1997;Gröner, 1986) and have been included on lists of "low risk" biocontrol agents by the European Union (Leuschner, 2010; Regulation of Biological Control Agents in Europe; http://www.rebecanet.de). Since the start of their commercial use, baculoviruses have been tested extensively to assess their safety in order to meet registration requirements (reviewed in Burges et al, 1980aBurges et al, , 1980bGröner, 1986;Ignoffo, 1973).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recent Advances in Our Knowledge of Baculovirus Molecular Biology and Its Relevance for the Registration of Baculovirus-Based Products for Insect Pest Population Control

Lapointe¹,

Thumbi²,

Lucarotti³

2012

Integrated Pest Management and Pest Control - Current and Future Tactics

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“…Many pathogens are used in biocontrol of insect pests and are either generally regarded as safe in North America or are qualified presumption of safety in Europe, when intentionally added to food or feed for this purpose (Leuschner et al, 2010;Sundh et al, 2012). Those, that are not, are tested specifically and individually for the presence of toxins or other metabolic compounds and their safety for humans and animals prior to use.…”

Section: Biosafety Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diseases in insects produced for food and feed

Eilenberg

Vlak

Nielsen-LeRoux

et al. 2015

JIFF

148

117

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Increased production of insects on a large scale for food and feed will likely lead to many novel challenges, including problems with diseases. We provide an overview of important groups of insect pathogens, which can cause disease in insects produced for food and feed. Main characteristics of each pathogen group (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protists and nematodes) are described and illustrated, with a selection of examples from the most commonly produced insect species for food and feed. Honeybee and silkworm are mostly produced for other reasons than as human food, yet we can still use them as examples to learn about emergence of new diseases in production insects. Results from a 2014 survey about insect diseases in current insect production systems are presented for the first time. Finally, we give some recommendations for the prevention and control of insect diseases.

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Qualified presumption of safety (QPS): a generic risk assessment approach for biological agents notified to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

Cited by 146 publications

References 48 publications

Risk profile related to production and consumption of insects as food and feed

Risk profile related to production and consumption of insects as food and feed

Recent Advances in Our Knowledge of Baculovirus Molecular Biology and Its Relevance for the Registration of Baculovirus-Based Products for Insect Pest Population Control

Diseases in insects produced for food and feed

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