Update of the standard regulatory actions for prospective and retrospective cumulative dietary risk assessment of pesticides in MCRA

Abstract

Chemical risk assessment typically focusses on individual substances. However, people are exposed daily to multiple chemicals from diverse sources. The Monte Carlo Risk Assessment (MCRA) platform, developed by Wageningen University & Research (WUR, Biometris) for the Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), addresses this issue by enabling cumulative risk assessment (CRA). Recognising the need for mixture risk assessment (MRA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and RIVM collaborated under a Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) to enhance the MCRA software for user-friendly and transparent MRA. These enhancements include the development of a new standard regulatory action (SRA) and the refinement of existing retrospective SRAs. The new prospective SRA enables the evaluation of scenarios for new (proposed) maximum residue levels (MRL) for substances within existing cumulative assessment groups (CAG), with the potential for future application to new substances. Regarding the updates of existing retrospective SRAs, more recent occurrence data, food consumption data from more countries compared to the previous version of the SRA, and additional health effects/CAGs were included. Future actions may include further development and periodic updates of the current retrospective SRAs in MCRA, incorporating new considerations and data. These improvements facilitate compliance with regulatory methods and support efficient risk assessment.