Food contamination is a matter of serious concern, as the high concentration of chemicals present in the edibles poses serious health risks. Protecting the public from the degrees of the harmfulness of contaminated foods has become a daunting task. This article highlights the causes, types, and health implications of chemical contamination in food. The food contamination could be due to naturally occurring contaminants in the environment or artificially introduced by the human. The phases of food processing, packaging, transportation, and storage are also significant contributors to food contamination. The implications of these chemical contaminants on human health are grave, ranging from mild gastroenteritis to fatal cases of hepatic, renal, and neurological syndromes. Although, the government regulates such chemicals in the eatables by prescribing minimum limits that are safe for human consumption yet measures still need to be taken to curb food contamination entirely. Therefore, a variety of food needs to be inspected and measured for the presence of chemical contaminants. The preventative measures pertaining about the food contaminants problems are pointed out and discussed.

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A total of eight strains of lactic acid bacteria were isolated from water kefir grains and assessed for their in vitro a-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Lactobacillus mali K8 demonstrated significantly higher inhibition as compared to the other strains, thus was selected for in vitro probiotic potential characterization, antibiotic resistance, hemolytic activity and adaptation to pumpkin fruit puree. L. mali K8 demonstrated tolerance to pH 2.5 and resisted the damaging effects of bile salts, pepsin and pancreatin, comparable to that of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG ATCC 53103 (reference strain). Lack of hemolytic activity and susceptibility to the five standard antibiotics indicated the safety of the K8 strain. This strain showed singular properties to be used as starters in the pumpkin fruit puree fermentation. These preliminary in vitro tests indicated the safety and functionality of the K8 strain and its potential as a probiotic candidate.

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