Consumer, consumption Research

PAs cause veno-occlusive disease of the liver after significant consumption and are associated with other ill effects. Comprehensive knowledge of the occurrence of PAs in food and feed is required for the calculation of exposure affecting animals and humans, and to support legislation formulate advice to consumers. Current research into improving or replacing older analytical methods has been prompted by advice to consumers from Australian and New Zealand authorities related to contaminated honey, and by requests from the European Commission via the European Eood Safety Authority (EESA). 

The acceptable tolerance level of chlorpyrifos in meat and meat by-products destined for human consumption is 2.0 mg/kg fresh weight (Byford et al. 1986), and for agriculture products it usually ranges between 0.05 and 15.0 mg/kg FW and up to 25.0 mg/kg for citrus oil (USPHS 1995). The significance of these concentrations to animal health, or to consumers other than man, is unknown. More research is needed to establish maximum tolerable chlorpyrifos limits in tissues of sensitive fish and wildlife. Proposed air criteria for chlorpyrifos and human health include 200 pg/m3 in the workplace, and much lower concentrations of 0.48 to 3.3 pg/m3 in nonoccupational settings (USPHS 1995). No air criteria are currently available or proposed for protection of wildlife. 

The most common use of salt is as part of daily diets. Although it is added directly to food, 75% of the salt consumed in the United States is a result of eating processed foods The National Academy of Sciences has determined that a minimum daily requirement of 500 mg of sodium is safe, which equates to 1,300 mg of salt. The Academy and the federal government recommend that sodium consumption be no more than 2,400 mg per day, which equals 6,100 mg of salt. Most Americans consume levels higher than this, and many health organizations recommend decreasing salt intake. Excess salt can lead to health problems such as elevated blood pressure, although recent research seems to indicate that normal or moderately... 

One of the major items contributing to the high processing cost is the cost of the catalyst consumed. This is particularly true for propylene alkylation, where the catalyst cost is about 2.5 to 3.0 cents per gallon of alkylate produced. Several courses that research might follow in order to reduce catalyst consumption would be the development of a more efficient reactor, a more efficient catalyst, or an additive which would retard catalyst degeneration. 

The question of whether organic food is better for human health than conventional food is central in the minds of organic consumers (see Chapter 77). Yet the research indicates that no definitive nutritional differences have been found (see Chapter 13). Reviews in several countries all concluded that there is no evidence for any direct health benefits associated with the consumption of organic foods. These reports also concluded that there were no health risks associated with organic food. Differences were reported for a range of nutritional characteristics, but there is no consistency across the literature. 

---