As governments and agribusinesses race to curb greenhouse gas emissions while feeding a growing global population, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released new guidance to help policymakers and industry assess food safety risks linked to emerging climate-mitigation chemicals used in agriculture.

The new report, Environmental Inhibitors in Agrifood Systems – Considerations for Food Safety Risk Assessment, alongside a technical brief, focuses on environmental inhibitors (EIs)—substances designed to reduce methane emissions from livestock and nitrogen losses from fertilizers.

FAO warns that while these tools show promise in reducing agriculture’s climate footprint, their potential transfer into the food chain must be carefully evaluated to avoid risks to human health and trade disruptions.

“A food safety lens is essential when introducing new technologies into agrifood systems,” said Corinna Hawkes, Director of FAO’s Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division. “By addressing safety considerations early, climate solutions can be effective, trusted, and widely adopted.”

Two Key Technologies Under Review

The guidance focuses on two main categories:

Methanogenesis inhibitors, used in cattle and other ruminants to reduce methane emissions. Some compounds, such as 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP), block methane production at the microbial level and are regulated as either veterinary drugs or feed additives depending on jurisdiction.

Nitrogen inhibitors, applied to soils to improve nitrogen use efficiency and reduce nitrous oxide emissions. Compounds like dicyandiamide (DCD) help curb fertilizer losses but may enter the food chain through crops or grazing animals.

FAO highlights that regulatory frameworks for these substances remain fragmented globally, with differing data requirements and risk assessment approaches across regions—underscoring the need for harmonized international standards.

Climate Stakes Are High

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, agriculture accounts for 58 per cent of global methane emissions and 52 per cent of nitrous oxide emissions. FAO projections indicate that without mitigation, agrifood system emissions could rise by over 30 per cent by 2050 compared to 2010 levels.

Webinar and Global Dialogue

FAO experts will present the findings and discuss food safety implications in a global webinar on 20 January, hosted via Zoom at 10:00 CET, as part of the organization’s Food Safety Foresight Programme, which tracks emerging risks in rapidly evolving agrifood systems.

FAO emphasized that regardless of how environmental inhibitors are classified, food safety assessments must begin with residue detection in food products, forming the baseline for regulatory decision-making.

Source - https://agrospectrumindia.com