Chemical Food Safety Issues in the United States: Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

Considerable advances have been made over the past century in the understanding of the chemical hazards in food and ways for assessing and managing these risks. At the turn of the 20th century, many Americans were exposed to foods adulterated with toxic compounds. In the 1920s the increasing use of insecticides led to concerns of chronic ingestion of heavy metals such as lead and arsenic from residues remaining on crops. By the 1930s, a variety of agrochemicals were commonly used, and food additives were becoming common in processed foods. During the 1940s and 1950s advances were made in toxicology, and more systematic approaches were adopted for evaluating the safety of chemical contaminants in food. Modern gas chromatography and liquid chromatography, both invented in the 1950s and 1960s, were responsible for progress in detecting, quantifying, and assessing the risk of food contaminants and adulterants. In recent decades, chemical food safety issues that have been the center of media attention include the presence of natural toxins, processing-produced toxins (e.g., acrylamide, heterocyclic aromatic amines, and furan), food allergens, heavy metals (e.g., lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium), industrial chemicals (e.g., benzene, perchlorate), contaminants from packaging materials, and unconventional contaminants (melamine) in food and feed. Due to the global nature of the food supply and advances in analytical capabilities, chemical contaminants will continue to be an area of concern for regulatory agencies, the food industry, and consumers in the future.

Food Additives from an Organic Chemistry Perspective

“…Food packaging and food safety issues are the Siamese twins of modern nutrition science and technology. In search for better food packaging materials, scientists are sizing up nanoscience materials whose safety has not yet been fully researched [58]. Plastics and other synthetically prepared polymers are the materials of choice for the modern food packaging industry.…”

Non-targeted screening approaches for contaminants and adulterants in food using liquid chromatography hyphenated to high resolution mass spectrometry

“…Chemical hazards in food have included agrochemicals, environmental and industrial contaminants, and toxins, among others [1]. Furthermore, adulteration and food fraud continues to be problematic [2].…”

“…Furthermore, adulteration and food fraud continues to be problematic [2]. The globalization of the food supply has also necessitated previously monitored; this adulteration was responsible for multiple illnesses and deaths among children and pets [1]. If a particular food sample has been found to make people sick or elicit a response, how does one go about identifying the responsible compound(s)?…”

Pesticide Drift: Seeking Reliable Environmental Indicators of Exposure Assessment

“…However, concerns about potential human health and the environmental effects of pesticides have increased over the past several years (Van der Werf 1996;Pimentel 2005;Damalas and Eleftherohorinos 2011). Pesticide residues, the pesticides that may remain on or in food after application to food crops for pest management, are also of great concern for public health (Jackson 2009;Kantiani et al 2010). With increasing legislation and environmental pressure, it is essential that everything possible is done to ensure that pesticides are used correctly to obtain the maximum benefit with the minimum of risk for the human and the environment.…”