News from CRIS: Update from the CRIS Director

May 11, 2020

I write to you today hoping this finds you safe, in good health, and adjusting to a world impacted by the novel coronavirus.
 
While there are still many problems to solve, I wanted to share with you how our center, with your continued support and participation, has used our knowledge and resources to positively impact the global community during this pandemic as well as update you on the next steps we’re taking as a science-based center.
 
When CRIS was formed we knew that the world needed a trusted source of information around ingredient safety. The novel coronavirus pandemic unveiled how powerful and trusted our center is in uncertain times. 
 
When the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put out specific recommendations to help combat COVID-19 infections, we closely reviewed the information. After going through their materials, it was clear there were information gaps on specific ingredients that these organizations could not easily fill, so we took the opportunity to help support their efforts by crafting content that explained specific recommendations in more depth.
 
Within days we saw a positive impact.
 
More than 350K users have visited our website to get this critical information, more than 26K people have viewed our instructional video and gifs, and we were able to broadcast our content via WKAR (public radio) to the larger community.  
 
While we have temporarily suspended research related to cannabidiol (CBD), a priority area for the coming year, we are looking to resume our studies in the next several weeks as the university begins to reopen laboratories. We also remain in close contact with organizations that may want to partner with CRIS to continue developing our CBD research portfolio.
 
We’ve continued to put together a comprehensive white paper on CBD focused on the safety, major toxicological data gaps, and legal obstacles facing CBD-containing consumer products. We look forward to submitting this paper to the peer-reviewed literature in the coming months.
 
In addition, CRIS responded to the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Scientific Opinion on "Risk to Human Health Related to the Presence of Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Food” during the open public comment period. We appreciate the opportunity to assist the EFSA in building a scientific consensus based on the state-of-the-science on food safety and PFAS.
 
While we are still adjusting to this new normal, we want to assure you that we will continue with our research, education, and communication agenda. You and your continued support make our research and outreach possible, and we thank you for being part of the CRIS team.

Be well,

Norb Kaminski, Ph.D.
Professor, Pharmacology & Toxicology
Director, Center for Research on Ingredient Safety
Director, Institute for Integrative Toxicology
Michigan State University

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Read the entire blog post with further information on ongoing research objectives at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/update-from-the-cris-director