Emerging food contaminants: a review

Anal Bioanal Chem. 2010 Nov;398(6):2413-27. doi: 10.1007/s00216-010-3944-9. Epub 2010 Jul 31.

Abstract

Governments throughout the world are intensifying their efforts to improve food safety. These efforts come as a response to an increasing number of food-safety problems and increasing consumer concerns. In addition, the variety of toxic residues in food is continuously increasing as a consequence of industrial development, new agricultural practices, environmental pollution, and climate change. This paper reviews a selection of emerging contaminants in food, including the industrial organic pollutants perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and nanomaterials; the pharmaceutical residues antibiotics and coccidiostats; and emerging groups of marine biotoxins. The main analytical approaches for their detection and quantification in food will be presented and discussed with special emphasis on biological techniques, when these are feasible. In the last section, a summary of recent publications reporting the concentrations of these compounds in food will be presented and discussed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / analysis
  • Biosensing Techniques / instrumentation
  • Biosensing Techniques / methods
  • Environmental Pollutants / analysis*
  • Fluorocarbons / analysis
  • Food Contamination / analysis*
  • Food Contamination / legislation & jurisprudence
  • Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / analysis
  • Immunoassay / instrumentation
  • Immunoassay / methods
  • Marine Toxins / analysis
  • Nanostructures / analysis

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Environmental Pollutants
  • Fluorocarbons
  • Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
  • Marine Toxins