- Food contaminants
Food contamination refers to the presence in food of harmful chemicals and microorganisms which can cause consumer illness. This article addresses the chemical contamination of foods, as opposed to microbiological contamination, which can be found under
Foodborne illness .A separate issue isGenetically modified food , or the presence in foods of ingredients fromGenetically modified organisms , also referred to as a form of food contamination. [ [http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefing_notes/food_contamination.pdf] Briefing on GM Food Contamination]Impact
The impact of chemical contaminants on consumer health and well-being is often apparent only after many years of prolonged exposure at low levels (e.g. cancer). Chemical contaminants present in foods are often unaffected by thermal processing (unlike most microbiological agents). Chemical contaminants can be classified according to the source of contamination and the mechanism by which they enter the food product.
=adamssEnvironmental contaminants
Environmental contaminant s are chemicals that are present in the environment in which the food is grown, harvested, transported, stored, packaged, processed, and consumed. The physical contact of the food with its environment results in its contamination. Possible sources of contamination are:Air: radionuclides (137
Caesium , 90Strontium ),polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).Water:
arsenic , mercury.Soil:
cadmium ,nitrate s,perchlorate s.Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) ,dioxin s, andpolybrominated diphenyl ether s (PBDE) are ubiquitous chemicals, which are present in air, water, soil, and the entire biosphere.Packaging materials:
antimony ,tin , lead,perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA),semicarbazide ,benzophenone ,isopropylthioxanthone (ITX),bisphenol A .Processing/cooking equipment:
copper , or other metal chips, lubricants, cleaning and sanitizing agents.Naturally occurring toxins:
mycotoxin s,phytohaemagglutinin ,pyrrolizidine alkaloid s,grayanotoxin ,mushroom toxins,scombrotoxin (histamine ),ciguatera , shellfish toxins (seeshellfish poisoning ),tetrodotoxin , among many others.Hair in food
Many people consider hair in food to be particularly unpleasant. [cite web|url=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ap/rt/2000/00000032/00000001/art01403|title=Regulatory Action Criteria for Filth and Other Extraneous Materials IV. Visual Detection of Hair in Food Authors: Valdes Biles P.; Ziobro G.C. Source: Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, Volume 32, Number 1, August 2000 , pp. 73-77(5) Publisher: Academic Press] It is claimed sometimes that it does not usually pose any serious health risk, [cite web|url=http://www.foodquality.com/mag/08092005/fq_08092005_FE1.html|title=Food Quality issue 08 09 2005] [cite web|url=http://www.kitsapcountyhealth.com/environmenta_health/food/docs/facts_hairrestraints.pdf.|title=Kitsap County Health] but in other cases it is claimed that it does pose a health risk. [cite web|url=http://www.foodquality.com/mag/06012006_07012006/fq_06012006_SS1.htm|title=Food Quality issue 06 01 2006]
For example, people working in the food industry are required to cover their hair. [cite web|url=http://www.ohioagriculture.gov/pubs/divs/food/curr/hcomm/letters/food-ltr-hairrestraint.stm|title=Ohio Department of Agriculture] [cite web|url=http://www.campden.co.uk/whatsnew/news66.htm|title=CCFRA newsletter] Also, when people are served food which contains hair in restaurants or cafes, people may complain to the manager. [cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20060920/ai_n16750428/pg_2|title=Looking under the tables - The Gazette] Despite this, it is not valid ground to
sue the restaurant in theUnited States [cite web|url=http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/foreign-objects-in-food-lawyers.html|title=Foreign Objects in Food] but in the United Kingdom it breaks the regulations of the UK Food Safety Act 1990 and is known to cause food poisoning [cite web|url=http://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/wwwdocs/health/TPL_Food/00%20Newsletter/11%202001/03%20March.pdf|title=townsville.qld.gov.au|format=PDF] and people can sue for this. [cite web|url=http://www.lancaster.gov.uk/General.asp?id=SXA067-A77FE4D4|title=lancaster.gov.uk] In one case a supermarket considered banning a man with a beard working there. [cite web|url=http://foodsafetynetwork.ca/fsnet/2001/3-2001/fs-03-04-01-01.txt|title=Food safety network] In such cases there exists protection for food workers who have facial hair, which is called 'snood'. [cite web|url=http://www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/1028/Garment_Construction:_A_question_of_taste.html|title=Printwear and promotion]The cause of people's disgust with hair in food could be that hair is not easily digestible and is the wrong shape for being processed in the body. Hair in food was often a common cause of complaint from people eating food, before the introduction of complete capture hairnets. [cite web|url=http://www.ifst.org/uploadedfiles/cms/store/ATTACHMENTS/foodbitessep05.pdf.|title=IFST.org]
Also, sometimes protein from human hair is actually used as a food ingredient, [cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/2007/01/does_your_daily_bread_contain_human_hair.html|title=BBC News] in bread and other such similar products. Such use of human hair in food is forbidden in
Islam . [cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Quad/2406/islam1.htm|title=Halaal & Haraam Page] Historically inJudaism finding hair in food was a sign of bad luck. [Lilith's Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural, byHoward Schwartz (1991). ISBN 0-19506-726-6]Processing contaminants
Processing contaminants are generated during the processing of foods (e.g. heating, fermentation). They are absent in the raw materials, and are formed by chemical reactions between natural and/or added food constituents during processing. The presence of these contaminants in processed foods can not be entirely avoided. However, technological processes can be adjusted and/or optimized in order to reduce the levels of formation of processing contaminants. Examples are:
nitrosamines ,polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH),heterocyclic amines ,histamine ,acrylamide ,furan ,benzene ,trans fat ,monochloropropanediol (MCPD),semicarbazide ,4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), andethyl carbamate . There is also the possibility of metal chips from the processing equipment that requires metal detection. In manyconveyor lines, the line will be stopped, or when weighing the product with aCheck weigher , the item can be rejected for over- or underweight as well as detection of very small pieces of metals.Emerging food contaminants
While many food contaminants have been known for decades, the formation and presence of certain chemicals in foods has been discovered relatively recently. These are the so-called emerging food contaminants, e.g.
acrylamide ,furan ,benzene ,perchlorate ,perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA ),monochloropropanediol (MCPD),4-hydroxynonenal and (4-HNE).Fact|date=September 2008afety and regulation
Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) levels and tolerable concentrations of contaminants in individual foods are determined on the basis of the "No Observed Adverse Effect Level" (NOAEL) in animal experiments, by using a safety factor (usually 100). The maximum concentrations of contaminants allowed by legislation are often well below toxicological tolerance levels, because such levels can often be reasonably achieved by using good agricultural and manufacturing practices.The establishment of ADIs for certain emerging food contaminants is currently an active area of research and regulatory debate.
References
See also
*
Contamination Control
*Food safety External links
* [http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/opaofas.html FDA’s Office of Food Additive Safety]
* [http://www.who.int/foodsafety/chem/en/ WHO: Chemical Risks in Food]
* [http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefing_notes/food_contamination.pdf] (Briefing on GM Food Contamination)
* [http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/pestadd.html] (FDA: Pesticides and Chemical Contaminants)
* [http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/intro.html] (FDA: The Bad Bug Book)
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