The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) advises the Food Standards Agency (see above), the Department of Health and Social Care and other government departments on matters concerning the toxicity of chemicals. It protects the public by helping to maintain safe food and environmental standards. It began in 1978, where it mostly reviewed the safety of food additives and colourings. As more food substance approvals became an EU matter, its work evolved and expanded into environmental matters. Its first annual report was published in 1991, and its working papers are now mostly publicly accessible.
