Toxicological considerations

Toxicological issues fall into two quite distinct areas first, human health concerns resulting from consumption of arsenic compounds in seafood, and second, ecological concerns arising from the effects of these compounds on marine organisms. 

Since the early work in the 1920s (4-6), it had been accepted that arsenic in marine organisms was organic and nontoxic. This appeared 

Consequently, there was renewed interest in marine arsenic research, and several groups worked in this area during the 1970s. Not surprisingly, they were from countries such as Japan and Australia and those in Scandinavia, where seafood is either widely consumed or is an important export commodity. The research activity resulted in the identification of arsenobetaine and the range of other arsenic compounds reported in Section IV. 

The type of toxicity most often associated with oral vanadium treatment is gastrointestinal, indicated by diarrhea and subsequent dehydration. It has been suggested that vanadate is perhaps not as well tolerated as vanadyl however, differences may be slight. The group of Domingo and colleagues has conducted a number of studies which showed an unfavorable toxicological 

There are different opinions on the necessary scope of safety evaluations of flavouring substances. The following facts need to be borne in mind  

These facts have led to a number of safety evaluations of and regulatory approaches to flavouring materials [6]. 

Especially the relatively low exposure level has been considered by several authors  

The approaches outlined above, all treat prospective chemicals as potential equals. They do not take account of any other data which may have been available at the time of evaluation, even though this may be influential in deciding which exposure levels do not have toxicological significance. 

The first and most important activity in evaluating the safety of flavouring substances was initiated in 1960 in the USA where the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) organised a panel of expert scientists for this purpose. 

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