CURRENT TRENDS IN ANIMAL SAFETY TESTING

Since enactment of the 1958 Food Additive Amendment, toxicological sciences have advanced faster that the statutes, particularly in relation to carcinogenicity testing. For the past three decades, other than for microbiological issues, food safety activities have generally focused on food additives rather than foods themselves. The knowledge collected during this period with improved methodologies, in analytical chemistry as well as biological sciences, along with the advent of biotechnology is now bringing focus to questions about the adequacy of present means of testing and evaluating the safety of complex mixtures known as foods. These developments, remaining issues and current trends will be discussed.