Scientific Opinion on Tropane alkaloids in food and feed

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the risks to human and animal health related to the presence of tropane alkaloids (TAs) in food and feed. TAs are secondary metabolites which occur in several plant families. Although more than 200 different TAs have been identified in various plants, respective data on toxicity and occurrence in food and feed are limited. Therefore, the EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) could only perform a risk assessment on (-)-hyoscyamine and (-)-scopolamine, the two TAs for which occurrence and toxicity data were available.