Update of the EFSA Pesticide Genotoxicity Database

Genotoxicity is one of the most important endpoints for human health. Several large databases of genotoxicity results are available for training the predictive systems. This has given rise to the generation of a large number of (Q)SAR models and Read-Across approaches. The main objectives of the contract OC/EFSA/SCER/2021/05 and its follow-up contract PO/EFSA/PREV/2025/02 were to update the existing EFSA genotoxicity database developed under the previous Contract GP/EFSA/PRAS/2014/01 through IUCLID application as well to migrate the existing data to IUCLID format. Chemical and genotoxicity information for pesticides active substances and their metabolites has been extracted from the EFSA draft/renewals assessment reports and entered into IUCLID according to the operational procedures developed under the project. In total, considering all IUCLID entries, the update includes 143 active substances and 279 metabolites. The final database available in both Excel and IUCLID formats includes 389 active substances, 1058 metabolites, 6119 genotoxicity studies (26198 data points). In addition, under the new contract PO/EFSA/PREV/2025/02, 87 substances were added to this final database, in IUCLID format and extracted to excel in this repository using the OECD QSAR toolbox. Availability of well-curated high-quality databases, covering a broader chemical space, is one of the key points to be addressed for the generation of more accurate and trustable results in risk assessment. In this context, this project is believed to provide firm ground for improving of confidence of (Q)SAR and Read-Across methods and provides an excellent example of good data management practices in respect of FAIR data principles, defined as Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability of data. 

The report describing the work done is available here: https://doi.org/10.2903/sp.efsa.2025.EN-9847 

An extension of the EFSA Pesticide Genotoxicity Database is available here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14946068