Human food consumption regulation

A model for the regulation of human food consumption. Asterisks ( ) indicate obesity-causing mutations. Abbreviations are given in the text. 

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report Intolerable Risk Pesticides in Our Children s Food focused on the increased risk of the adverse effects of pesticides on children. This was in part because of the smaller size of the child relative to the adult and because of different food consumption practices. Relative to their size, children eat, drink, and breathe more than adults in part because they are growing. The use and regulation of pesticides illustrate the complexities of risk analysis and risk management and the difficulties in determining an acceptable level of exposure with acceptable risks. In the United States approximately 1 billion pounds of pesticides (with about 600 different active ingredients) are used annually in the agricultural sector, and worldwide approximately 4 billion pounds are used. There are a range of human health and environmental health effects associated with the use of pesticides. 

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the quality of food, including the levels of environmental contaminants. The FDA has established guidelines for the levels of aflatoxins permitted in human foodstuffs and animal feed. The maximum permitted level for human food is 20 parts per billion of total aflatoxins. Higher levels are permissible for feed destined for animal consumption. 

Center for Eood Safety and AppHed Nutrition (CESAN). This center is responsible for the regulation and approval of food for human consumption, food additives, color additives, and cosmetics. Although CESAN does not regulate meat and poultry, it does set safety and sanitation standards for supermarkets, restaurants, and other retail food estabUshments. 

Regulatory limits for aliatoxin content in food have been established in the U.S. at 20 ppb for food consumed by humans, 0.5 ppb for milk, and 20 to 300 ppb for animal feed. Current European Commission regulatory limits for aliatoxin content in foodstuffs for direct human consumption has been set at 2 ppb, and at 0.05 ppb for milk. EC limits for animal feed are 5 ppb. Contaminated harvests that are not under these maximum limits are to be disposed of. There are also elaborate sampling plans in many regulations (Park et ah, 1998). 

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Chapter 1, Part 172, Food Additives Permitted in Food for Human Consumption, Section 172.892, Food Starch- Modified, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1981. 

By law, all drugs must meet certain minimum specifications which certify acceptable purity for human consumption. Most manufacturers of licit preparations, or products prepared in accordance with regulations defined by law and enforced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in the United States, will adopt... 

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