The database now includes 211 new chemicals with negative results in the Ames test, a widely employed in vitro method based on bacteria to identify if a chemical can cause mutations in DNA.
Damage to DNA caused by chemicals is concerning since it can contribute to the initiation and development of many serious health effects including birth defects and cancer.
The July issue of the JRC MARS Bulletin - Crop monitoring in Europe – which was published today, reports that the recent near-average weather conditions, with well-distributed rainfall and relatively few hot spells, have been favourable to crops in many parts of Europe.
However, extreme weather events in much of central Europe, south-western Finland and southern Russia had significant negative impacts, mostly on winter crops.
A recent European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) report identifies a list of challenges driven by climate change that may affect food safety (risks associated with the food chain) in Europe.
These challenges include food-borne diseases; toxic blooms in water, both algae and bacteria; harmful parasites, fungi, viruses, vectors and invasive species; the (re)emergence of new hazards and increased susceptibility to known hazards; and changing nutrient levels in food and feed.
Wastewater has emerged as a reliable indicator of the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the population, while being itself not a source of infection. The ability to detect RNA fragments of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater is increasingly and independently being reported from research groups in nearly all EU Member States and beyond. This is a first opportunity to reliably surveil the presence of the virus in the population in a better and more harmonized way without direct testing of individual persons.
The AR-CALUX® method was validated by the JRC’s EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM) and has now been taken up in an international test guideline by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for the detection of androgen-like chemicals.
The ongoing transition towards a green economy and a low-carbon energy system has profound societal implications both worldwide and in the EU. The road towards recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic puts this green transition in a new light: the immediate need to revive economic growth and employment can be seen as a potential vehicle to create jobs in clean technologies, as part of long-term sustainable investment plans.
