OpenFoodTox Database Reduces Toxicity Testing on Animals

Study in a Sentence 

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) thinks “sharing is caring” and has created the OpenFoodTox database from information they once used for chemical assessment to encourage the development of new approaches that do not use animals.

Healthy for Humans 

The database is a compilation of chemical and toxicological information that is currently being used to provide support for the development of computer-based, or in silico, models. These tools can more efficiently protect human health and the environment by providing information on the potential risks of chemicals in food.

Redefining Research

EFSA is a European agency that regulates pesticides and food additives. Like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it requires companies to conduct toxicological testing, often on animals. Many chemicals have already been tested on animals, and making these data available will prevent duplicative testing. EFSA’s OpenFoodTox database does this, ensuring that companies and other countries can use the data to draw conclusions about chemical safety without doing more animal testing. The database will also assist other scientists to more rapidly develop new in silico models.