Food contamination pathways

In direct contact with food In direct contact with food during packaging Monolayer materials 

Via the layer in contact with food The substance passes through one or several materials before coming in contact with food Multilayer materials, labels, lacquers, motif 

Contamination of the layer in contact with food before packaging Contact between inner and outer sides of packaging (smear, transfer phenomenon or setoff) Film rolls, packaging or parts of stacked packaging 

No contact Contamination via headspace or permeation of gases Ink solvents, flavorings, off flavors, contaminants from secondary packaging 

TiConcentration of contaminant in packaging before being packaged 71 Production incident 

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Children can be exposed to endosulfan by eating food contaminated with the pesticide, by accidentally ingesting the pesticide if it is stored around the house, or by breathing air contaminated with the pesticide if it is sprayed on nearby fields. There are no known unique exposure pathways for children. We do not know if children s intake of endosulfan per kilogram of body weight is different than that of adults. 

The routes of exposure to POPs for human beings include inhalation, dermal exposure, and ingestion of water or food contaminated by POPs. Cases of occupational or accidental exposure to POPs have been recorded, particularly during the application of pesticides (Vallack et al., 1998). However, food consumption is one of the most important pathways of exposure for the general population (Dougherty et al., 2000 Stefanelli et al., 2004). 

The main route of exposure of humans and animals to PAs is the oral pathway. Human exposure occurs through consumption of food contaminated by toxic plant products or by the ingestion of herbal medicines containing the toxin. PAs have been found in wheat, milk, honey, herbal medicines, and herbal teas at different concentrations. Livestock exposure to PAs is attributed to the consumption of PA-containing plants while grazing. 

Figure 13.3. a) Contamination pathways with and without contact and b) transfers between packaging and food... 

One issue that has demanded considerable attention over recent years has been the contribution of vehicle-generated lead aerosol to human uptake of lead and hence blood lead levels. There are three principal pathways of human exposure to this source of lead direct inhalation, ingestion of deposited dust (street dust, household dust, soil) and ingestion of foods contaminated directly or indirectly by deposited lead. 

Biotic Transport Biotic transport can be defined as the actions of plants and animals that result in the transport of a radioactive material or other substance from a waste site to locations where it can enter pathways that may result in exposure to humans. Small mammals are ubiquitous and inhabit areas containing radioactive contamination or radioactive waste sites. Mammals inhabiting these areas may become contaminated with americium by consuming contaminated soil or plants and disturb americium-contaminated soil through their burrowing and excavating activities. These animals may therefore affect the distribution of americium within the waste site or transport americium to previously uncontaminated areas. In addition, small mammals may be consumed by animals higher in the food chain such as hawks and coyotes, which would add to the dispersal of americium from disposal areas. However, results of... 

In addition to its broad occurrence under contrasting conditions, easy collection, relatively long life span, and resistance to the accumulation of toxic chemicals, zebra mussels provide a link between the pelagic and benthic food webs, possibly creating a rapid pathway for contaminant transfer from sediments to predators such as common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and, occasionally, humans [32, 42—4-7]. Consequently, zebra mussel has been considered a potential sentinel organism for assessing Hg redistribution from point sources in the Ebro River and the degree of bioavailability to river and wetland food webs. 

Several models have been developed for a kinetic approach to bioaccumulation that would model the trophic transfer of contaminant in animals from ingested food. A first-order kinetic model has been proposed, which considers uptake from both dissolved and particulate phases [95], A particular application of that model is to separate the pathways for metal uptake in marine suspension and deposit feeders since ... 

Health hazards to humans by sludge-borne organics result from contamination of food for human consumption. The main pathways... 

It is often of interest to understand the pathway a chemical uses to reach the medium that ultimately creates the exposure. This typically takes the form of a description of the movement of a chemical through various environmental media. Some pathways are short and simple aflatoxin, for example, contaminates a moldy food and we consume that food there is only one medium (the food) through which the aflatoxin moves to reach us. Most pathways are somewhat more complex. 

Children are exposed to 1,4-diehlorobenzene primarily by inhalation of vapors from toilet deodorants, moth proofing crystals and moth balls used in the home or by consumption of moth balls. Consumption of 1,4-dichlorobenzene in foods (See Section 5.4.4) and drinking water (See Section 5.4.2) contaminated with 1,4-dichlorobenzene is thought to be a minor exposure pathway. There have been no body burden measurements made on children. 

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