Contaminants in the Food Chain
The Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) provides scientific advice on contaminants in the food chain and undesirable substances such as natural toxicants, mycotoxins and residues of unauthorised substances.
CONTAM Panel Members are scientists from across Europe with expertise in:
- Chemistry – organic, inorganic, analytical chemistry, food and feed processing in the area of chemical contaminants
- Exposure assessment – expertise is required especially in relation to dietary exposure assessment of chemical contaminants including knowledge on food consumption surveys
- Human and veterinary toxicology (in risk assessment of chemicals) – absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion (ADME) of substances (toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics), sub-chronic and chronic toxicity (repeated dose studies), genotoxicity and mutagenicity, developmental and reproductive toxicity, carcinogenicity, allergenicity and immunotoxicity.
- Toxicological tests in experimental animals – interpreting toxic effects of chemical contaminants in farm and pet animals
- Epidemiology – biomarkers of the effects and exposure and interpretation of human data)
- Statistics – assessment of dose-response effects, e.g. benchmark dose modelling and analysis of complex (epidemiological) data sets
- Animal nutrition – animal exposure assessment.
Previous Panel Members
2015-2018
Chair: Helle Katrine Knutse
Vice-Chair: Lutz Edler; Christiane Vleminckx
Members: Jan Alexander; Lars Barregard; Margherita Bignami; Beat Brüschweiler, as of July 2016; Sandra Ceccatelli; Bruce Cottrill; Michael Dinovi; Bettina Grasl-Kraupp; Christer Hogstrand; Laurentius (Ron) Hoogenboom; Carlo Stefano Nebbia; Isabelle Oswald; Annette Petersen; Vera Maria Rogiers, until June 2016; Martin Rose; Alain-Claude Roudot; Tanja Schwerdtle; Guenter Vollmer; Heather Wallace
2012-2015
Chair: Diane Benford
Vice-chair: Peter Fürst; Dieter Schrenk
Members: Sandra Ceccatelli; Bruce Cottrill; Michael DiNovi; Eugenia Dogliotti; Lutz Edler; Peter Farmer; Anne Katrine Lundebye; Laurentius Ron Hoogenboom; Helle Katrine Knutsen; Manfred Metzler; Antonio Mutti; Carlo Stefano Nebbia; Michael O’Keeffe; Annette Petersen; Ivonne Rietjens, until May 2014; Vittorio Silano, until July 2014; Hendrik Van Loveren; Christiane Vleminckx; Pieter Wester
2009-2012
Chair: Josef Schlatter
Vice-chair: Diane Benford; Rolaf van Leeuwen
Members: Jan Alexander; Alan Boobis; Sandra Ceccatelli; Bruce Cottrill, as of May 2011; Jean-Pierre Cravedi; Alessandro di Domenico; Daniel Doerge; Eugenia Dogliotti; Lutz Edler; Peter Farmer; Metka Filipic; Johanna Fink-Gremmels; Peter Fürst; Thierry Guérin; Helle Katrine Knutsen; Christopher Livesey, until July 2009; Miroslav Machala; Antonio Mutti; Martin Rose, as of May 2011; Philippe Verger, until November 2009
The Declarations of Interests and CVs of previous Panel members are available upon interestmanagement [at] efsa.europa.eu (request).