The Standard – December 2018

We are pleased to announce the recent hire of Mr. Hervé Mohr, joining our team in the newly created role of sales manager for Environmental, Food, Water, and Exposure Analysis standards in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. 

Exposomics, simply put, is the study of the exposome and is a field that has been gaining attention as researchers focus not only on identifying the contaminants present in the environment, but their effects on humans as well. The exposome encompasses an individual’s lifetime exposure to internal and external stresses, including environmental, dietary, and metabolic factors, to name a few.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a voluntary recall of several drug products that contain the blood pressure and heart failure medicines valsartan, losartan, and irbesartan. The voluntary recall was initiated in July 2018 when the impurity N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) was identified in valsartan, and was updated in September 2018 when another impurity, N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), was similarly detected.  The recalls were expanded when NDEA was also detected in formulations of losartan and Irbesartan. Both NDMA and NDEA are considered probable carcinogens. Additional information regarding the recall timeline and status can be found on the FDA’s website, as accessed here.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order in August 2018 for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finalize a ban on the insecticide chlorpyrifos, allowing 60 days for the EPA to implement action by discontinuing any approved uses and revoking all approved limits in food. The EPA banned most home use of the insecticide in the US in 2000, and environmental groups filed a petition in 2007 requesting the complete ban of the insecticide due to neurotoxicity concerns in humans. Read more about the history and uses of chlorpyrifos here.