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The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded that the brominated flame retardants (BFRs) TDBPP, DBPNG and TBNPA are carcinogenic and genotoxic, adding to the pressure on regulators to deal more strictly with the class.
The conclusion from EFSA’s Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) comes in a 27 July opinion on the risks of 27 ‘new or emerging’ BFRs that occur in food.
In addition to the three carcinogenic BFRs, the panel found that DBE-DBCH is genotoxic. The remainder are either not genotoxic (EBTEBPI, DBDPE, PBB-Acr and TTBP-TAZ) or associated with insufficient data for a conclusion to be reached.
BFRs are used in a wide range of industrial and consumer products, and can transfer to the environment during use or disposal. Once in the environment, the substances can accumulate in plants and animals leading to contamination of meat, fish, dairy products and other foods.
Regulatory authorities globally, including ECHA, the European Commission and EU member state competent authorities, often use EFSA advice in regulatory decisions on chemicals in products.
The CONTAM panel previously assessed the same BFRs in 2012, when it was unable to perform risk characterisation for any of the substances because of "very limited" data on occurrence, exposure and toxicity.
In its new assessment, the panel was able to characterise the risks of BEH-TEBP, EH-TBB and DBDPE and concluded that dietary exposure "does not raise a health concern".
Risk characterisation was not possible for the remaining substances because of low data availability, and no health-based guidance values could be derived for any of the 27 substances.
Restriction plans
Flame retardants have been under increasing regulatory scrutiny in the EU for several years, particularly since the European Commission in 2022 adopted its restrictions roadmap, which included plans for a broad, group-based restriction under REACH.
At that time, the roadmap said "in principle" all flame retardants would be in scope, albeit with a particular focus on BFRs, but in 2025 ECHA registered an intention to propose a restriction limited to certain non-polymeric aromatic BFRs.
Subsequently, the Commission narrowed the scope of its ambitions in its updated roadmap, removing the general flame retardants entry in favour of one for ECHA’s submitted intention and another for analytical work on organophosphorus flame retardants.
NGOs have criticised the lack of a broad, group-based restriction on flame retardants.
Meanwhile, the Commission has been exploring other options to encourage companies to phase out BFRs. It is running a pilot project to promote substitution in construction, vehicles, cables and other relevant applications.