The definition of chemical contaminants in food: Ambiguity and consequences.

Autor: Rietjens IMCM; Division of Toxicology, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, the Netherlands., Pascale M; Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council of Italy, via Roma 64, 83100, Avellino, Italy., Pellegrino G; Scientific Affairs and Research, Lavazza Group, Strada Settimo, 410, 10156, Turin, Italy., Ribera D; Regulatory and Scientific Affairs EMEA, Cargill R&D Center Europe BVBA, Havenstraat 84, 1800, Vilvoorde, Belgium., Venâncio A; CEB - Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal., Wang D; Division of Toxicology, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, the Netherlands., Korzeniowski K; ILSI Europe, Av. E. Mounier 83, 1200, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: publications@ilsieurope.be.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology : RTP [Regul Toxicol Pharmacol] 2024 Nov 14; Vol. 155, pp. 105739. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Nov 14.
DOI: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2024.105739
Abstrakt: Consumers may be exposed via foods to a diverse range of substances that could be considered as contaminants. However, it is not always straightforward to understand the definition of a 'contaminant'. The present review evaluates how various categories of food-relevant substances are considered in terms of being 'contaminants'. To this end these categories of food borne constituents are evaluated against the various criteria encountered in the available definitions of a food contaminant, including unintentional presence, harmful, existence of regulatory limits, and stakeholder perception. The categories of chemicals considered include: phytotoxins, mycotoxins, (heavy) metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), processing aids, process related contaminants, food contact materials (FCMs), pesticides and veterinary drugs. The evaluation revealed that usage of the term appears complex, and may differ between stakeholders. A common proposed definition of the term 'contaminant' could be 'a substance considered to require control measures due to the unacceptability of its context within a food'. Use of a dimension of harm results in equivocal outcomes because risk depends on the level of exposure. As the term 'contaminant' has influence on risk management including public policy, the motivations for applying the term should be subject to more detailed analysis and understanding.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Rietjens Ivonne and Wang Danlei were paid an honoraria to complete the work. Konrad Korzeniowski is a full-time employee of ILSI Europe.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: