Emerging Food Chemical Contaminants from Industry Pollution

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-80
Author(s):  
Gianluca Tognon

In May 2011, the illegal use of the plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in clouding agents for use in foods and beverages was reported in Taiwan. This food scandal has caused shock and panic among the majority of Taiwanese people and has attracted international attention raising once again concern regarding the contamination of food by chemical toxic compounds. However, although these accidents cause a lot of concern, it is worth remembering that governments throughout the world are intensifying their efforts to improve food safety. In Europe in particular, food policy is based on high safety standards, aimed to protect and promote consumers’ health. EU legislation specifies that food containing a level of contaminants that is unacceptable from a public health viewpoint, cannot be put on the market.Currently, one of the great challenges in food safety is the control of risks associated with mixtures of contaminants, which are constantly changing. Food may be contaminated by chemical substances through production practices, packaging, transport, or storage. The contamination might also result from environmental pollution through contaminated air, water, soil, and accumulation in the food chain. Among the most prominent groups of emerging food contaminants, those from industrial sources (perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and, partially, nanomaterials) cause particular concern. Many of these can be associated with severe damage to human health, for example some are suspected to be cancer promoters. Other compounds have been associated with endocrine disruptor effects, or can be accumulated and biomagnified through the food chain.

Author(s):  
Jelena VRANEŠEVIĆ́ ◽  
Suzana VIDAKOVIĆ́ ◽  
Slobodan KNEŽEVIĆ́ ◽  
Miloš PELIĆ́ ◽  
Zoran RUŽIĆ́ ◽  
...  

International trade requires food safety guarantees based on specialized hygiene standards, transparency procedures, and programs. Meat, because of its high water content and nutrition, can be an ideal medium for microorganism growth and multiplication. Salmonella, as one of the most common pathogens that can be transmitted from animals to humans, causes major public health problems worldwide. Although mortality is low, the disease has important social and economic consequences. Based on governmental regulation, Serbia runs an active, official control of Salmonella in meat. From January to December 2017, 193 samples of imported pork, beef, lamb, kid, and poultry meat were analyzed for the presence of Salmonella spp. Only one (0.52%) of all analyzed samples was positive to Salmonella spp. The positive sample was frozen chicken drumsticks together with thighs originated from Poland, which makes 6.67% of the total examined poultry meat samples. Infected poultry is one of the most important reservoirs of Salmonella that are transmitted to humans through the food chain. The identity of the isolated strain was biochemically and serologically confirmed to be Salmonella Infantis. This pathogen is in the 4th place of most common Salmonella serovar among human isolates in Europe and the most common serovar isolated from poultry meat. In order to decrease the prevalence of Salmonella spp. it is necessary to maintain all the food safety standards through the whole food chain, from farm to fork.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (15) ◽  
pp. 4607
Author(s):  
Dounia Elfadil ◽  
Abderrahman Lamaoui ◽  
Flavio Della Pelle ◽  
Aziz Amine ◽  
Dario Compagnone

Detection of relevant contaminants using screening approaches is a key issue to ensure food safety and respect for the regulatory limits established. Electrochemical sensors present several advantages such as rapidity; ease of use; possibility of on-site analysis and low cost. The lack of selectivity for electrochemical sensors working in complex samples as food may be overcome by coupling them with molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). MIPs are synthetic materials that mimic biological receptors and are produced by the polymerization of functional monomers in presence of a target analyte. This paper critically reviews and discusses the recent progress in MIP-based electrochemical sensors for food safety. A brief introduction on MIPs and electrochemical sensors is given; followed by a discussion of the recent achievements for various MIPs-based electrochemical sensors for food contaminants analysis. Both electropolymerization and chemical synthesis of MIP-based electrochemical sensing are discussed as well as the relevant applications of MIPs used in sample preparation and then coupled to electrochemical analysis. Future perspectives and challenges have been eventually given.


2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (12) ◽  
pp. 1472-1477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Maina Gitonga ◽  
Adenirin Chabi-Olaye ◽  
Dagmar Mithöfer ◽  
Julius Juma Okello ◽  
Cecilia Nyawira Ritho

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 573-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Clifford ◽  
Henry Olszowy ◽  
Megan Young ◽  
John Hegarty ◽  
Matthew Cross

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1461
Author(s):  
Oscar A. Galagarza ◽  
Alejandra Ramirez-Hernandez ◽  
Haley F. Oliver ◽  
Mariel V. Álvarez Rodríguez ◽  
María del Carmen Valdez Ortiz ◽  
...  

The presence of chemical contaminants in agricultural products is a continued food-safety challenge in Peru. This country has robust agriculture potential, but its output of fruits and vegetables is severely impacted by massive mining activities, as well as poor farming practices, including the use of polluted irrigation water, misuse of pesticides, and inadequate postharvest conditions. This review examines the current scientific knowledge on the levels of pesticide residues, heavy metals, and mycotoxins on crops produced in Peru. The available data shows that several crop varieties are contaminated with these classes of chemical contaminants, and at levels that exceed the national and international permissible limits. The abundance of chemical contaminants in produce indicates a relevant food-safety issue, which increases the risks of chronic human diseases, like cancer—a leading cause of death in Peru. Finally, this review presents recommendations to address these contamination problems in produce grown in the Andean country.


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