EFSA created TKPlate, a platform for predicting the toxicity of chemicals without animal testing

24 November 2023

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) annouced the launch of TKPlate, a groundbreaking initiative in the realm of food safety that seeks to revolutionise traditional practices by eliminating the need for animal testing. This platform is designed to model and predict the toxicity of chemicals, shedding light on their impact within both human and animal systems. According to EFSA, TKPlate marks a significant stride toward a future where animal testing is minimized or altogether eliminated in the realm of food safety.

A growing ethical and scientific debate within society and the scientific community has prompted a reevaluation of the practice of animal testing to evaluate risk from chemicals and assess food safety. The desire to reduce animal suffering has spurred advancements, with the promotion of the three Rs – replace, reduce, and refine – in animal testing methodologies.

In response to this evolving landscape, the use of alternative tools is gaining traction. TKPlate, developed through collaboration between scientists at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and top European research organisations, is at the forefront of this shift. Functioning as an online platform, TKPlate provides a comprehensive suite of tools and a dedicated space for scientists and regulators to model and predict toxicokinetics (TK) and toxicodynamics (TD) properties.

The platform ““allows risk assessors and others involved in toxicology to model TK and TD processes in all the species included in the platform. Basically, you select the species, the chemical or group of chemicals, input parameters such as the type of exposure, then you run the models with a click”, says toxicologist Jean-Lou Dorne, whom along with statistician/modeller Jose Cortiñas Abrahantes is leading the work on TKPlate.

“It calculates the concentrations of chemicals inside the body from the intakes (TK) and predicts the effects (TD) they can cause. These results can directly replace animal data, reducing the need for new experiments. It works in the opposite direction too; we can estimate exposure if there is data such as blood or urine concentrations. It has many more features including TK-TD modelling and a tool for assessing risks from chemical mixtures.

“You get an automated report at the end that provides details of all the inputs and outputs, data and graphs. This can go directly into the scientific assessment as part of the evidence base,” Dorne explains.