EuroMix · Project

Chemical Mixture Risk Assessment Toolbox for Food Safety Compliance

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When you eat food, you're exposed to tiny amounts of many different chemicals — pesticides, additives, contaminants — all at once. Regulators currently test these chemicals one by one, but nobody really knows what happens when they mix together inside your body. EuroMix built a set of lab tests and computer models that can predict the combined risk of chemical cocktails, so regulators and food companies can finally assess real-world exposure instead of guessing. Think of it like a weather forecast for chemical safety — combining multiple data points to predict the actual risk.

By the numbers

consortium partners across the project

countries represented in the consortium

EUR 7,999,097

total EU contribution to the project

key health endpoints covered (liver, hormones, development, immunology)

total project deliverables produced

stakeholder training sessions delivered

The business problem

What needed solving

Food companies and regulators currently assess chemical safety one substance at a time, but consumers are exposed to dozens of chemicals simultaneously through their diet. There is growing regulatory pressure — especially from EFSA — to evaluate cumulative exposure from chemical mixtures, and most companies have no tools or methods to do this. Without proper mixture assessment, companies face regulatory risk, potential product recalls, and inability to prove safety of their products under evolving EU rules.

The solution

What was built

A web-based model toolbox for cumulative chemical risk assessment (including the ACROPOLIS-IT probabilistic exposure tool), a bioassay platform for testing chemical mixtures in the lab, a tiered testing strategy with guidance documents, and a priority-setting module for identifying the most concerning chemical combinations. In total, 44 deliverables were produced including demonstration prototypes and training materials from 2 stakeholder sessions.

Audience

Who needs this

Large food manufacturers needing cumulative exposure assessment for regulatory compliancePesticide and agrochemical companies facing mixture toxicity evaluation requirementsFood safety testing laboratories wanting to offer mixture risk assessment servicesNational food safety authorities implementing EFSA cumulative assessment guidelinesFood retail chains requiring supplier chemical safety documentation

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Food manufacturing and processing

enterprise

Target: Food manufacturers with complex ingredient supply chains

If you are a food manufacturer dealing with regulatory pressure to prove your products are safe from cumulative chemical exposure — this project developed a web-based model toolbox that calculates combined risk from multiple chemical residues across your product lines. With 27 partners across 19 countries validating the approach, the tool covers 4 key health endpoints: liver, hormones, development, and immunology.

Agrochemical and pesticide companies

enterprise

Target: Pesticide and crop protection product developers

If you are a crop protection company struggling to get new products approved because regulators increasingly demand cumulative risk data — this project created a tiered testing strategy that uses computer models and cell-based assays before animal tests. The bioassay platform lets you screen chemical combinations early in development, potentially reducing costly late-stage failures and cutting animal testing.

Food safety testing and consulting

SME

Target: Contract laboratories and food safety consultancies

If you are a food safety testing lab looking to offer cumulative risk assessment services to your clients — EuroMix built an openly accessible web-based platform with training materials from 2 dedicated training sessions. The ACROPOLIS-IT tool inside handles probabilistic exposure calculations, giving you a ready-made service offering for clients facing mixture assessment requirements.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to access or license the EuroMix tools?

The web-based model toolbox was designed as an openly accessible platform, meaning basic access should be free. Based on available project data, the project invested EUR 7,999,097 in development across 27 partners, but commercial licensing terms for integration into proprietary systems would need to be discussed with the coordinator RIVM.

Can these tools work at industrial scale for large product portfolios?

The toolbox includes probabilistic exposure calculation methods already implemented in the ACROPOLIS-IT platform, which handles cumulative assessment groups defined by EFSA. The demonstration tool covers multiple exposure scenarios and chemical combinations, suggesting it can handle portfolio-level assessments. Scaling to very large datasets would depend on the specific deployment.

What is the IP situation — can we use this commercially?

The project was funded as an RIA (Research and Innovation Action), and the toolbox was built as an openly accessible web-based platform. However, specific IP terms for commercial embedding or white-labeling would need clarification from RIVM, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health. The bioassay platform may have separate IP considerations.

Does this align with current EU food safety regulations?

Yes — the project was specifically designed to support EFSA cumulative assessment groups and to harmonize approaches within the EU, Codex Alimentarius, and WHO. US-EPA experts were also involved. This means the tools are built to meet the regulatory direction that EU food safety policy is heading.

How ready is this for real-world use today?

The project delivered a demonstration prototype of the model toolbox and a demonstration tool for cumulative exposure assessment. Two stakeholder training sessions were held with proceedings and materials produced. The project ended in May 2019, so the tools have had time to mature beyond the project period.

How would this integrate with our existing food safety systems?

The toolbox is web-based, which means it can be accessed alongside existing systems without deep integration. The ACROPOLIS-IT tool handles exposure calculations using probabilistic methods. For deeper integration into internal quality management systems, API access or data export capabilities would need to be confirmed with the development team.

Is there ongoing support and development?

The project ended in 2019, but RIVM (the coordinator) is a major national public health institute with ongoing regulatory responsibilities. Based on available project data, 44 deliverables were produced including guidance documents. Continued maintenance depends on RIVM's institutional commitment and any follow-up EU funding.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a heavily research-driven consortium with 13 research organizations and 9 universities, but only 1 industry partner (4% industry ratio) and zero SMEs. The 27 partners span 19 countries including non-EU participants from the US, Canada, Brazil, and Switzerland — reflecting the global regulatory nature of food safety. The coordinator, RIVM (Netherlands), is a top-tier national public health institute with direct influence on EU food safety policy. The involvement of WHO and US-EPA experts adds regulatory credibility. However, the near-absence of commercial food industry partners is a weakness for business adoption — the tools were built by scientists for regulators, not by industry for industry. A business looking to use these tools should expect a capable but academic product that may need commercial packaging.

RIJKSINSTITUUT VOOR VOLKSGEZONDHEID EN MILIEUCoordinator · NL
STATNI ZDRAVOTNI USTAVparticipant · CZ
UNIVERSITAT ROVIRA I VIRGILIparticipant · ES
BUNDESINSTITUT FUER RISIKOBEWERTUNGparticipant · DE
FOLKEHELSEINSTITUTTETparticipant · NO
THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRSparticipant · UK
IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINEparticipant · UK
UNIVERSITEIT GENTparticipant · BE
NACIONALNI INSTITUT ZA JAVNO ZDRAVJEparticipant · SI
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE L ENVIRONNEMENT INDUSTRIEL ET DES RISQUES - INERISparticipant · FR
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY - EPAthirdparty · US
MATIS OHFparticipant · IS
FUNDACAO UNIVERSIDADE DE BRASILIAthirdparty · BR
BENAKI PHYTOPATHOLOGICAL INSTITUTEparticipant · EL
EUROPEAN FRESH PRODUCE ASSOCIATION AISBLparticipant · BE
EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICHparticipant · CH
YPOURGEIO YGEIASparticipant · CY
DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITETparticipant · DK
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANOparticipant · IT
KAROLINSKA INSTITUTETparticipant · SE
FERA SCIENCE LIMITEDparticipant · UK
HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVEparticipant · UK
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENTparticipant · FR
AGENCE NATIONALE DE LA SECURITE SANITAIRE DE L ALIMENTATION DE L ENVIRONNEMENT ET DU TRAVAILparticipant · FR
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWAthirdparty · CA
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATIONthirdparty · CH
STICHTING WAGENINGEN RESEARCHparticipant · NL

How to reach the team

RIVM (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu), Netherlands — national public health institute. Search for EuroMix project coordinator at RIVM.

Order a report on this consortium See RIJKSINSTITUUT VOOR VOLKSGEZONDHEID EN MILIEU profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how chemical mixture assessment tools can strengthen your food safety compliance? SciTransfer can connect you with the EuroMix research team and help evaluate fit for your specific product portfolio.

Order a report on this topic More in Food & Agriculture