Novel strategies for toxicological risk assessments.

the Society of toxicology (StOx), India, and Safety and environmental Assurance Centre (SeAC), Unilever, organized a one day symposium on “Novel Strategies for Toxicological Risk Assessments” on September 4, 2013 at Unilever R&D Centre, Bangalore, India. As animal testing for safety assessment of cosmetic ingredients and products is facing a likely ban in India, there is an increasing need to develop toxicological risk assessment strategies using non-animal methodologies, implying the need for a fundamental change in the way safety assessments are carried out. this symposium has been unique from the perspective of India in the sense that in spite of the rapid pace at which regulatory guidelines have been coming up in this country, the academic, scientific, industrial, and regulatory communities hardly have had occasion to meet to discuss non-animal methods in their respective endeavors. Given the increasing need for development of novel alternative methods and strategies for assessing toxicological safety, this symposium was organized to enhance awareness of newer toxicological and risk assessment approaches. the symposium provided a platform for academic, industrial, and regulatory scientists and students to network and debate on current non-animal approaches available for toxicological risk assessment, to discuss the issues facing researchers in developing such methodologies, and to explore the need to develop capability and programs to address the issue.