EFSA CONTAM 2020 — Nickel in Food and Drinking Water
Summary
The EFSA CONTAM Panel update of the risk assessment of nickel in food and drinking water (adopted September 2020, EFSA Journal 2020;18(11):6268) establishes a tolerable daily intake (TDI) for chronic oral nickel exposure of 13 µg Ni/kg body weight per day, anchored on increased post-implantation loss in rats with a BMDL10 of 1.3 mg Ni/kg/day as the reference point. For acute oral exposure, the Panel identified eczematous flare-up reactions in nickel-sensitized humans (systemic contact dermatitis) as the critical effect, with a LOAEL of 4.3 µg Ni/kg bw. The Panel applied a margin-of-exposure approach for acute exposure with MOE ≥ 30 considered low concern. The assessment used more than 47,000 European nickel occurrence data points.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| TDI (chronic oral) | 13 µg Ni/kg b.w./day |
| Critical chronic endpoint | Increased post-implantation loss in rats |
| Chronic BMDL10 | 1.3 mg Ni/kg b.w./day |
| Critical acute endpoint | Eczematous flare-up (systemic contact dermatitis) in Ni-sensitized humans |
| Acute LOAEL | 4.3 µg Ni/kg b.w. |
| MOE threshold for low concern | ≥ 30 |
| Occurrence dataset | More than 47,000 European data points |