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EFSA Confirms Ongoing Health Concerns from Exposure to Dioxins in European Food

In a development that reflects the continuous advancement in food safety and risk assessment sciences, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a new scientific opinion confirming that dietary exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (Dioxin-like PCBs) remains a public health concern for the European population.

This update follows the World Health Organization (WHO) revision of Toxicity Equivalency Factors (TEFs) in 2022, which are the scientific tools used to assess the combined toxicity of these highly hazardous chemical contaminants.

What Are Dioxins and Dioxin-like PCBs?

Dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs are persistent environmental contaminants, meaning they do not easily break down in the environment and can remain for years or even decades.

They are typically formed as unintentional by-products of industrial processes such as waste incineration, paper bleaching, and the production of certain pesticides and chemicals.

These compounds are lipophilic (fat-loving substances), meaning they accumulate in the fatty tissues of animals rather than remaining in water or plants. For this reason, animal-derived foods such as meat, fish, milk, and dairy products are the primary sources of human dietary exposure.

With continuous consumption, these substances can accumulate in the human body over time, potentially leading to serious health effects, including increased cancer risk, damage to the nervous system, immune dysfunction, and adverse effects on reproductive health.

How Is Their Toxicity Measured?

Dioxins are not a single compound but a group of chemically related substances with different toxicity levels. To assess their combined impact, scientists use a system known as Toxicity Equivalency Factors (TEFs).

This system is based on the most toxic compound in the group, 2,3,7,8-TCDD, which is assigned a reference toxicity value of 1.

Other compounds are assigned relative values based on their toxicity compared to this reference compound. In laboratory analysis, the concentration of each compound is multiplied by its TEF value, and the results are summed to produce the total toxic equivalency (TEQ), which represents the overall toxicity of the mixture.

EFSA’s updated assessment is based on the revised TEFs published by the World Health Organization in 2022, leading to a recalculation of health risks associated with exposure to these contaminants.

Lowering the Safe Level of Dietary Exposure

Based on new scientific evidence, EFSA has established a revised value for the Tolerable Weekly Intake (TWI).

The TWI represents the amount of a contaminant that can be ingested weekly over a lifetime without expected adverse health effects.

EFSA has reduced this limit to:

0.6 picograms per kilogram of body weight per week

This value is three times lower than the level set in the 2018 assessment.

To understand how small this amount is, a picogram is one trillionth of a gram, highlighting the extreme sensitivity of these substances and their ability to cause health effects even at very low concentrations.

This updated threshold is based on scientific evidence indicating potential effects on the normal development of the male reproductive system, supported by both animal studies and human data.

What Did the Latest Assessment Reveal?

The assessment found that current dietary exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs among the European population exceeds the new TWI across all age groups.

The highest exceedances were observed among:

• Young children
• Children
• Certain vulnerable population groups

The report also highlights specific concerns for women of childbearing age, due to the potential transfer of these contaminants to the fetus during pregnancy and possible effects on early male development.

How Do Scientists Study Their Behavior in the Human Body?

EFSA’s assessment relies on toxicokinetic models, which are scientific models that describe the journey of a chemical substance within the human body from the moment of exposure until its elimination.

These models help answer key questions such as:

• How much of the substance is absorbed by the body?
• Where is it stored?
• How long does it remain in the body?
• How is it eliminated?

They are also used to estimate the transfer of contaminants through the food chain. For example, they can calculate how much dioxin may transfer from contaminated animal feed into milk or meat consumed by humans.

Future Recommendations by EFSA

EFSA has recommended several measures to improve future risk assessments, including:

• Developing more human-relevant toxicity equivalency factors
• Improving toxicokinetic modeling approaches
• Collecting more data on contamination levels in plant-based foods
• Expanding biomonitoring programs for human milk and blood across European countries

Who Makes Regulatory Decisions?

It is important to distinguish between risk assessment and risk management.

EFSA is responsible for scientific risk assessment, meaning it evaluates hazards and provides evidence-based recommendations.

Risk management, however, is the responsibility of regulatory authorities that set legal limits and enforce food safety controls.

These include:

• The European Commission
• Competent authorities in EU Member States
• National food safety agencies such as Egypt’s National Food Safety Authority (NFSA)

What About Egypt and the Arab Region?

Currently, there are no independently established national TWI values for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in Egypt or most Arab countries that differ significantly from international scientific references. As a result, regulatory authorities and researchers in the region generally rely on international standards and assessments issued by organizations such as EFSA and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Although this assessment originates from the European Union, its implications are highly relevant to the Middle East and North Africa region, particularly due to the increasing global food trade and many Arab countries’ dependence on exporting food products to international markets.

Any changes in health-based limits or regulatory thresholds within major markets such as the European Union are likely to influence future export requirements, testing protocols, and compliance standards for food products originating from the region.

Why Should Manufacturers in the Arab Region Pay Attention?

At first glance, this assessment may appear relevant only to European consumers. However, in reality, its impact extends to any food manufacturer or company aiming to remain competitive in both local and global markets.

Any tightening of regulatory limits on dioxins or other chemical contaminants within the European Union can lead to stricter inspection, testing, and compliance requirements for imported food products. Companies that fail to monitor these updates may suddenly face new requirements they had not anticipated.

Furthermore, what is considered an acceptable contaminant level today may not remain acceptable in the future, as scientific knowledge continues to evolve and regulatory limits are updated accordingly.

These findings reinforce a critical principle in food safety: risks are not limited to microbiological hazards alone but also include chemical contaminants that may exist at extremely low levels yet pose long-term health risks to consumers.

Therefore, manufacturers today are no longer only responsible for producing compliant products under current regulations, but also for actively monitoring emerging scientific developments and regulatory changes.

For exporting companies, ignoring such updates may lead to shipment rejections, additional regulatory barriers, or costly urgent testing requirements, while early awareness allows proactive adaptation before new rules are enforced.

What Happens Next?

Regulatory limits for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs already exist in food and feed within the European Union.

The European Commission and EU Member States are expected to consider EFSA’s updated assessment when reviewing existing maximum limits and updating dietary guidelines, with the goal of further protecting consumer health and reducing exposure to these contaminants.

EFSA is also conducting a comprehensive risk–benefit assessment of fish consumption, aiming to balance the nutritional benefits of fish with potential risks from contaminants such as dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs. This study is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

Conclusion

The latest scientific assessment by EFSA confirms that dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs remain a significant challenge to food safety and public health. The reduction of the tolerable weekly intake to 0.6 picograms per kilogram of body weight reflects growing scientific concern over the health effects of these contaminants, even at extremely low levels.

These findings highlight the importance of continuous monitoring and control of chemical contaminants throughout the food chain, alongside the strengthening of food safety systems and updated risk assessments aligned with the latest scientific evidence, to ensure safe food production and protect consumer health.