Elsa Reis Vasco
@min-saude.pt
Food and Nutrition Department
National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge
EDUCATION
PhD Degree in Chemical Engeneering - 2002
Biology degree - 1991
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Food safety, Contaminants, Food additives, Total Diet Studies, Risk assessment, Exposure assessment, Intake assessment
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
M. Graça Dias, Elsa Vasco, Francisco Ravasco, and Luísa Oliveira
Elsevier BV
Esther Lima de Paiva, Sher Ali, Elsa Reis Vasco, Paula Cristina Alvito, and Carlos Augusto Fernandes de Oliveira
Elsevier BV
Eva Govarts, Liese Gilles, Laura Rodriguez Martin, Tiina Santonen, Petra Apel, Paula Alvito, Elena Anastasi, Helle Raun Andersen, Anna-Maria Andersson, Lenka Andryskova,et al.
Elsevier BV
Paula Alvito, Ricardo Manuel Assunção, Lola Bajard, Carla Martins, Marcel J. B. Mengelers, Hans Mol, Sónia Namorado, Annick D. van den Brand, Elsa Vasco, Susana Viegas,et al.
MDPI AG
Mycotoxins are natural metabolites produced by fungi that contaminate food and feed worldwide. They can pose a threat to human and animal health, mainly causing chronic effects, e.g., immunotoxic and carcinogenic. Due to climate change, an increase in European population exposure to mycotoxins is expected to occur, raising public health concerns. This urges us to assess the current human exposure to mycotoxins in Europe to allow monitoring exposure and prevent future health impacts. The mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) were considered as priority substances to be studied within the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) to generate knowledge on internal exposure and their potential health impacts. Several policy questions were addressed concerning hazard characterization, exposure and risk assessment. The present article presents the current advances attained under the HBM4EU, research needs and gaps. Overall, the knowledge on the European population risk from exposure to DON was improved by using new harmonised data and a newly derived reference value. In addition, mechanistic information on FB1 was, for the first time, organized into an adverse outcome pathway for a congenital anomaly. It is expected that this knowledge will support policy making and contribute to driving new Human Biomonitoring (HBM) studies on mycotoxin exposure in Europe.
Elsa Vasco, M. Graça Dias, and Luísa Oliveira
Elsevier BV
Elsa Vasco, M. Graça Dias, and Luísa Oliveira
Elsevier BV
Paula Alvito, Elsa Vasco, and Ricardo Assunção
Elsevier BV
Ricardo Assunção, Carla Martins, Elsa Vasco, Alessandra Jager, Carlos Oliveira, Sara C. Cunha, José O. Fernandes, Baltazar Nunes, Susana Loureiro, and Paula Alvito
Elsevier BV
Lluis Serra-Majem, António Raposo, Javier Aranceta-Bartrina, Gregorio Varela-Moreiras, Caomhan Logue, Hugo Laviada, Susana Socolovsky, Carmen Pérez-Rodrigo, Jorge Aldrete-Velasco, Eduardo Meneses Sierra,et al.
MDPI AG
International scientific experts in food, nutrition, dietetics, endocrinology, physical activity, paediatrics, nursing, toxicology and public health met in Lisbon on 2–4 July 2017 to develop a Consensus on the use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) as substitutes for sugars and other caloric sweeteners. LNCS are food additives that are broadly used as sugar substitutes to sweeten foods and beverages with the addition of fewer or no calories. They are also used in medicines, health-care products, such as toothpaste, and food supplements. The goal of this Consensus was to provide a useful, evidence-based, point of reference to assist in efforts to reduce free sugars consumption in line with current international public health recommendations. Participating experts in the Lisbon Consensus analysed and evaluated the evidence in relation to the role of LNCS in food safety, their regulation and the nutritional and dietary aspects of their use in foods and beverages. The conclusions of this Consensus were: (1) LNCS are some of the most extensively evaluated dietary constituents, and their safety has been reviewed and confirmed by regulatory bodies globally including the World Health Organisation, the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority; (2) Consumer education, which is based on the most robust scientific evidence and regulatory processes, on the use of products containing LNCS should be strengthened in a comprehensive and objective way; (3) The use of LNCS in weight reduction programmes that involve replacing caloric sweeteners with LNCS in the context of structured diet plans may favour sustainable weight reduction. Furthermore, their use in diabetes management programmes may contribute to a better glycaemic control in patients, albeit with modest results. LNCS also provide dental health benefits when used in place of free sugars; (4) It is proposed that foods and beverages with LNCS could be included in dietary guidelines as alternative options to products sweetened with free sugars; (5) Continued education of health professionals is required, since they are a key source of information on issues related to food and health for both the general population and patients. With this in mind, the publication of position statements and consensus documents in the academic literature are extremely desirable.
Aida Turrini, Ginevra Lombardi-Boccia, Federica Aureli, Francesco Cubadda, Laura D’Addezio, Marilena D’Amato, Laura D’Evoli, PerOla Darnerud, Niamh Devlin, Maria Graça Dias,et al.
Informa UK Limited
ABSTRACT A total diet study (TDS) provides representative and realistic data for assessing the dietary intake of chemicals, such as contaminants and residues, and nutrients, at a population level. Reproducing the diet through collection of customarily consumed foods and their preparation as habitually eaten is crucial to ensure representativeness, i.e., all relevant foods are included and all potential dietary sources of the substances investigated are captured. Having this in mind, a conceptual framework for building a relevant food-shopping list was developed as a research task in the European Union’s 7th Framework Program project, ‘Total Diet Study Exposure’ (TDS-Exposure), aimed at standardising methods for food sampling, analyses, exposure assessment calculations and modelling, priority foods, and selection of chemical contaminants. A stepwise approach following the knowledge translation (KT) model for concept analysis is proposed to set up a general protocol for the collection of food products in a TDS in terms of steps (characterisation of the food list, development of the food-shopping list, food products collection) and pillars (background documentation, procedures, and tools). A simple model for structuring the information in a way to support the implementation of the process, by presenting relevant datasets, forms to store inherent information, and folders to record the results is also proposed. Reproducibility of the process and possibility to exploit the gathered information are two main features of such a system for future applications.
B. Sargaço, C. Serra, and E. Vasco
Informa UK Limited
ABSTRACT Cyclamate is widely used as intense sweetener in the European Union. The absence of a maximum limit for the use of cyclamate in tabletop sweeteners and the growing demand for this type of product highlights the importance of developing robust analytical methods for the determination of its content to understand if the consumption of tabletop sweeteners can have a negative impact on human health. The present work aimed at the optimisation and validation of an high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analytical method for cyclamate determination in tabletop sweeteners based on the procedure of European Standard EN 12857. The validated method was then applied to the determination of this sweetener in different types of tabletop sweeteners (liquid, powder and tablets). Both standards and samples solutions were submitted to a derivatisation procedure which converted cyclamate to N,N-dichlorocyclohexylamine. The derivatised product was separated and quantified using a reversed-phase column, a mobile phase composed of water (20%) and methanol (80%), isocratic flow of 1 ml min–1, and detection by ultraviolet spectrophotometry at a wavelength of 314 nm. The analytical method was internally validated according to the following validation parameters: working range, linearity, limits of detection and quantification, sensitivity, precision (repeatability and intermediate precision), and uncertainty. This method proved to be specific and selective for the determination of this sweetener, showing repeatability, RSDr ≤ 3%, intermediate precision, RSDR ≤ 3.3%, and recovery rates from 92% to 108% for the different tabletop sweeteners. The method uncertainty was 9.4%. The concentration of cyclamate in the samples varied significantly, from 2.9% to 73.9%, which demonstrated that a possible excessive consumption of one of the analysed sweeteners can lead to exceeding the acceptable daily intake for cyclamate.
Marcela Dofkova, Tanja Nurmi, Katharina Berg, Ólafur Reykdal, Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir, Elsa Vasco, Maria Graça Dias, Jitka Blahova, Irena Rehurkova, Tiina Putkonen,et al.
Informa UK Limited
ABSTRACT A total diet study (TDS) is a public health tool for determination of population dietary exposure to chemicals across the entire diet. TDSs have been performed in several countries but the comparability of data produced is limited. Harmonisation of the TDS methodology is therefore desirable and the development of comparable TDS food lists is considered essential to achieve the consistency between countries. The aim of this study is to develop and test the feasibility of a method for establishing harmonised TDS food and sample lists in five European countries with different consumption patterns (Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Iceland and Portugal). The food lists were intended to be applicable for exposure assessment of wide range of chemical substances in adults (18–64 years) and the elderly (65–74 years). Food consumption data from recent dietary surveys measured on individuals served as the basis for this work. Since the national data from these five countries were not comparable, all foods were linked to the EFSA FoodEx2 classification and description system. The selection of foods for TDS was based on the weight of food consumed and was carried out separately for each FoodEx2 level 1 food group. Individual food approach was respected as much as possible when the TDS samples were defined. TDS food lists developed with this approach represented 94.7–98.7% of the national total diet weights. The overall number of TDS samples varied from 128 in Finland to 246 in Germany. The suggested method was successfully implemented in all five countries. Mapping of data to the EFSA FoodEx2 coding system was recognised as a crucial step in harmonisation of the developed TDS food lists.
Ricardo Assunção, Elsa Vasco, Baltazar Nunes, Susana Loureiro, Carla Martins, and Paula Alvito
Elsevier BV
Carla Martins, Elsa Vasco, Eleonora Paixão, and Paula Alvito
Informa UK Limited
Commercial infant food labelled as from organic and conventional origin (n = 87) was analysed for total mercury content using a direct mercury analyser (DMA). Median contents of mercury were 0.50, 0.50 and 0.40 μg kg−1 for processed cereal-based food, infant formulae and baby foods, respectively, with a maximum value of 19.56 μg kg−1 in a baby food containing fish. Processed cereal-based food samples showed statistically significant differences for mercury content between organic and conventional analysed products. Consumption of commercial infant food analysed did not pose a risk to infants when the provisionally tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) for food other than fish and shellfish was considered. By the contrary, a risk to some infants could not be excluded when using the PTWI for fish and shellfish. This is the first study reporting contents of total mercury in commercial infant food from both farming systems and the first on exposure assessment of children to mercury in Portugal.
Elsa Reis Vasco and Paula Cristina Alvito
Informa UK Limited
Commercial baby food labelled as from organic or conventional origin, including vegetable-based baby foods, fruit purees and fruit juices (n = 80), were analysed for nitrate content by an in-house validated HPLC method. Nitrate contents ranged from 5 to 230 mg kg−1 with a mean concentration of 102 mg kg−1 for vegetable-based baby foods, and a median of 5 mg kg−1 for both fruit purees and juices. One sample of vegetable-based baby food was higher than the legislated value (200 mg kg−1). There were no significant differences between average nitrate levels in analysed samples regarding both farming systems. The estimated nitrate intake through baby foods for a mean nitrate concentration of 47 mg kg−1 ranged between 0.5 (15% of ADI) and 1.3 mg kg−1 bw day−1 (35% of ADI). The ADI level was exceeded (107–146% of ADI) only for the 95th and 99th percentiles of nitrate concentration.
Rui L. Mendes, Helena L. Fernandes, JoséP. Coelho, Elsa C. Reis, Joaquim M.S. Cabral, Júlio M. Novais, and António F. Palavra
Elsevier BV