Book Description

The FAO Technical Meeting on the Gut Microbiome in Food Safety Chemical Risk Assessment was held in Rome on 12–14 December 2023. A multidisciplinary group of 17 participants attended the Meeting: 11 experts and 1 resource person – risk assessors and microbiome ecologist experts – and 5 FAO team members. The objective was to explore challenges and needs for applying microbiome data in future chemical risk assessment. The meeting resulted in the identification of a series of steps required to facilitate further considerations and integration of microbiome data into the risk assessment of regulated substances. The initial discussions led to the identification of current challenges limiting the current usability of available microbiome data for risk assessment purposes. These included the need for definitions, improved and fit-for-purpose study designs based on realistic exposure scenarios, suitable and predictable biomarkers and endpoints, a better understanding of microbiome-chemical and microbiome-host interactions, support for interpreting microbiome study results, and linking those to adverse effects. Discussions evolved to address technical questions related to microbiome science, specifically in sampling, models, and omics technologies, and to consider new developments with more significant and relevant potential to improve the field. The experts identified the advantages, shortcomings, and potential improvements of various methodological approaches, models, and omics methods. They also highlighted the methods most suitable for addressing specific research questions related to chemical exposure, such as interactions between chemicals and the microbiome and related adverse health effects. However, there is a critical need for guidelines covering several research aspects, including the reporting of findings. Additionally, the meeting highlighted the need for international standardization and harmonization of different aspects of microbiome methodologies. The experts also identified several critical aspects where the inadequacy of available data currently hampers the systematic inclusion of microbiome data in the risk assessment of regulated substances. These inadequacies can be roughly grouped into three categories, i.e. definitions, research needs, standardization and standard harmonization. This initial brainstorming meeting paved the way for follow-up meetings to address these categories which will likely require the involvement of a broader group of experts and disciplines.