toxicity

Toxicity is the ability of a substance to cause harmful effects on living organisms, including humans, animals, or plants. In food safety, toxicity refers to how a chemical, contaminant, or natural substance in food can damage health, depending on the amount consumed, how often exposure occurs, and how the body processes it.

EFSA uses toxicity data to assess whether substances found in food can cause harm and under what conditions. It reviews evidence from laboratory studies, human data, and other scientific sources to understand the type and severity of toxic effects and the doses at which they occur. Based on this information, EFSA identifies safe exposure levels and establishes health-based guidance values such as tolerable daily or weekly intakes. These values are then compared with estimated dietary exposure of different population groups, including vulnerable groups like children or pregnant women. In this way, EFSA determines whether current levels of substances in food are safe and provides scientific advice to support risk management decisions and protect public health.