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 Chemistry and the Environment Division (VI)

Commission on Food

Summary of Minutes of Commission Meeting at IUPAC General Assembly, Berlin, Germany, 8-10 August 1999

Members Present: Chair, J. Gilbert; Secretary, S. Page; M. Miraglia; Titular Members: E. Anklam, J. MacNeil, M. Sabino; Associate Members: C. Brera, S. Dragacci, B. Szteke Observers Present: J.-M. Fremy, P. Holland (Secretary, Chemistry and the Environment Division), M. Lauwaars (AOAC International), A. Pohland (Chemistry and the Environment Division), R. Wood (Analytical Chemistry Division)

The meeting started in plenary session and then split into two parallel sessions covering Food Chemistry and Oils and Fats. This report covers the projects discussed within the Food Chemistry section.

Working Group Activities

  • Mycotoxins: IUPAC Electronic Bulletin Board for Mycotoxins. Ongoing project, but with need to update regularly identified as a priority. Collaborative studies of the Determination of Aflatoxin M1 in Milk and Mycotoxin Methods for Developing Countries have been combined with an FAO/IAEA project. "Identification of major sources of ochratoxin A (OA) intake through the analysis of OA in human serum" has been published as a preliminary report (D. Palli et al. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention 8, 265-269, 1999). > View project
  • Aquatic Biotoxins: Unification of Aquatic Biotoxin Nomenclature. Project to be terminated, but a satellite meeting on this subject was proposed in conjunction with the 10th International Symposium on Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins (10th ISMP).
  • Halogenated Hydrocarbons and Environmental Contaminants: A collaborative study on novel and conventional analytical techniques for the determination of toxicologically relevant PCB congeners in fish and human adipose tissues has been completed. A workshop to discuss novel extraction techniques, particularly for fish oils, was being planned for Barcelona, Spain, in the spring of 2000.
  • Elements: Beryllium in Food. A critical assessment has been completed and published in Food Additives and Contaminants 17, 149-159 (2000).
  • Natural Constituents: Chemical Characterization of Garlic Preparations. Project to be terminated.
  • Animal Drugs: Symposium on Issues in Regulatory Chemistry was held at the annual meeting of AOAC International in August 1997. The proceedings of this symposium, entitled "Current Issues in Regulatory Chemistry" and edited by Kay, MacNeil, and O’Rangers, have been published by AOAC International (Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, 2000), ISBN 0-935584-66-8. This project is now complete.
  • Novel Foods: A proposed symposium on genetically modified organisms was withdrawn. Validation of a screening method for the detection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food has been completed and published in J. AOAC Int. 82, 923-928 (1999).

Symposia/Workshops

  • 10th International IUPAC Symposium on Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins (10th ISMP) was held in Guarujá, Brazil, 21-25 May 2000 > see report.
  • Symposium on Trace Elements in Foods is being planned for Warsaw, Poland, 9-11 October 2000, with IUPAC sponsorship > Conference Calendar
  • 2nd International Symposium on Food Packaging– Ensuring the Safety and Quality of Foods is being organized by ILSI Europe with IUPAC sponsorship and will be held in Vienna, Austria, 8-10 November 2000 > Conference Calendar

Future Organization and Direction

  • Task forces were proposed to be developed to manage clusters of projects to be continued after the Commission structure is abolished in 2002. The Food Chemistry Working Group accepted this proposal. A Natural Toxins Task Force (E. Anklam, Head) and a Chemical Contaminants and Residues Task Force (J. MacNeil, Head) were recommended.
  • Following an informal meeting with the Commission on Toxicology (VII.C.2) of the Chemistry and Human Health Division, the Food Chemistry Working Group decided to participate in the ELEPHANT database project. This project (E. Anklam, Coordinator) is a compilation of baseline data for certain analytes in human tissues and fluids. This effort would be expanded to include analytes (such as contaminants) derived specifically from food sources.
  • A. Pohland and S. Page suggested that a CHEMRAWN Conference on "Chemistry for Food Safety" be proposed to the CHEMRAWN Committee. A preproposal was presented informally to this Committee by S. Page. This preproposal was well received. In collaboration with IOCD, a formal proposal (S. Page, Coordinator) will be prepared.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Commission on Food (VI.5) will be in Warsaw, Poland, 7-8 October 2000, just before the Symposium on Trace Elements in Food.

John Gilbert
Chairman
IUPAC Commission on Food VI.5

> Published in Chem. Int. 22(5), 2000


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