Novel foods as red meat replacers – an insight using Risk Benefit Assessment methods (the NovRBA project)
Meta data
Disclaimer: The present document has been produced and adopted by the bodies identified above as author(s). In accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, this task has been carried out exclusively by the author(s) in the context of a grant agreement between the European Food Safety Authority and the author(s). The present document is published complying with the transparency principle to which the Authority is subject. It cannot be considered as an output adopted by the Authority. The European Food Safety Authority reserves its rights, view and position as regards the issues addressed and the conclusions reached in the present document, without prejudice to the rights of the authors.
Abstract
The project entitled “Novel foods as red meat replacers – an insight using Risk Benefit Assessment methods (NovRBA)” aimed to develop and test harmonised Risk Benefit Assessment (RBA) methods to estimate the overall health impact of replacing red meat with an edible insect species (a novel food). Based on an appraisal of insect products that are more likely to be consumed in Europe, project participants decided to compare the consumption of a beef patty consisting of 100% minced beef meat (reference scenario) with a patty in which beef meat would be fully replaced by an edible insect dough (alternative scenario). The target population was adults. The RBA steps included the problem definition, the identification, prioritization and selection of components together with associated health outcomes. The assessment included the selection of dose‐response relationships based on their internal validity (hazard characterisation) and an exposure assessment of nutrient intake and exposures to microbiological hazards and compounds of toxicological concern associated with the reference and alternative scenarios. All health outcomes were quantified according to the disability‐adjusted life years (DALYs) composite metric. The project standardised the pivotal step of selecting model components through developing a tiered approach to prioritise components establishing the “long”, the “short” and the “final” list. The final list comprised thirteen nutrients, two heat‐resistant spore‐forming bacteria and inorganic arsenic. The RBA model was developed using @Risk® add‐in software using Monte Carlo simulations considering variability and/or uncertainty. Overall the expected change in DALYs when moving from the reference scenario to the alternative one was estimated to be around 8,753 DALYs (per 100,000 population) saved in Greece, 6,572 DALYs in Denmark and 21,972 DALYs in France. This is mainly due to the overall beneficial nutritional and microbiological impacts. The proposed actions to communicate the project’s findings can be summarised in providing understandable scientific evidence to policy makers; creating opportunities for consumers to engage in‐depth with information about insect consumption; making use of multipliers who enjoy a high level of trust and establishing informational exchange with trusted sources.