Food Toxicology

Food Toxicology deals with the toxic effects of natural and synthetic poisons and toxicants present in diverse foods and food products. Food toxicology is an important branch of food chemistry, and this area of science is gaining importance as the food supply chain is taking a multidimensional and multinational approach. So any level of contamination or intoxication will have widespread adverse health effects. Food toxicology deals with the toxic effects of food on living organisms, as well as the identification of toxins and their harmful, detrimental, or adverse effects.

The three main classes of toxicants present in food are as follow: (a) naturally occurring toxins. (b) Toxicants from Microorganisms 3.Toxic chemicals, pesticides, and insecticides. There are many living organisms grwon on foods that produce toxins naturally. These toxins are not harmful to the producing organism but they may be toxic to other creatures, including humans, for example, poisonous mushrooms, lectins, afla toxin etc.

Microorganisms such as different types of pathogenic bacteria and fungi are also capable of producing toxins. Microbial toxins may cause severe damage to the host tissues and immune system. The Shiga toxin, produced by the bacteria Shigella, is a potent biological toxins. Similarly, botulinum toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum is the most potent neurotoxic food poison.

Several factors determine the toxicity of a pesticide, e.g., dose, its structure, hosts’ immunity, etc. In the case of humans generally, insecticides are more toxic compared to herbicides. The exposure level of the toxin is always very important, as severity varies with the exposure level. The exposure route also plays an important role too. Different exposure routes such as swallowing, inhaling or direct skin contact have different consequences. [Hossain Uddin Shekhar]