Emission-Reducing Farm Technologies Put Food Safety in the Spotlight

As the world races to feed a growing population while cutting greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture sits at the center of a complex balancing act. New technologies are emerging to help farmers reduce emissions from livestock and fertilizers, but the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) cautions that food safety must remain a priority as these solutions are rolled out.

In a newly released report titled Environmental Inhibitors in Agrifood Systems – Considerations for Food Safety Risk Assessment, FAO examines the potential food safety implications of using environmental inhibitors, substances designed to curb methane emissions from livestock and reduce nitrogen losses from fertilizers. The report is accompanied by a technical brief aimed at guiding policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders in assessing possible risks to human health and trade.

FAO notes that while environmental inhibitors show promise in reducing agriculture’s climate footprint, their potential transfer into the food chain requires careful scientific evaluation. Without proper risk assessment, residues from these substances could pose health concerns or trigger trade disruptions.

The report focuses on two main categories of environmental inhibitors. The first includes methanogenesis inhibitors, which are administered to cows and other ruminants to reduce methane emissions produced during digestion. The second category covers nitrogen inhibitors applied to soils to improve fertilizer efficiency and limit emissions of nitrous oxide, another potent greenhouse gas.

To further unpack its findings, FAO will host a public webinar on 20 January, during which experts will discuss food safety considerations linked to the use of environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems. The online event, scheduled for 10:00 CET and to be held via Zoom, is open to policymakers, researchers, farmers’ organizations, and other interested stakeholders.

“Applying a food safety lens is essential when introducing new practices and technologies in agrifood systems,” said Corinna Hawkes, Director of FAO’s Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division. “By considering food safety at the outset, we can ensure that efforts to reduce environmental impacts are effective, trusted, and well understood.”

FAO highlights that regulatory frameworks governing environmental inhibitors remain fragmented. In some countries, certain inhibitors are classified as veterinary drugs, while in others they are treated as feed additives or soil inputs. These differences result in varying data requirements and risk assessment approaches, underscoring the need for greater international harmonization.

The organization supports this harmonized approach through scientific advice provided by international expert bodies, including the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues. Their work underpins global food standards developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

The publication and upcoming webinar form part of FAO’s Food Safety Foresight Programme, which aims to identify and monitor emerging food safety issues as agrifood systems rapidly evolve in response to climate change and technological innovation.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, agriculture accounts for an estimated 58 percent of global methane emissions and 52 percent of nitrous oxide emissions. FAO projects that without mitigation measures, greenhouse gas emissions from agrifood systems could increase by more than 30 percent between 2010 and 2050.

Methanogenesis inhibitors, such as 3-nitrooxypropanol, work by blocking key enzymes involved in methane production in the digestive systems of ruminant animals. Nitrogen inhibitors, including compounds like dicyandiamide, are designed to improve nitrogen use efficiency by reducing losses from soils. In both cases, FAO stresses that assessing whether residues enter food products is the starting point for ensuring consumer safety.

“Regardless of how these substances are classified,” the report concludes, “robust food safety risk assessment is essential to ensure that climate-friendly solutions do not come at the expense of human health.”