Toxic Chemicals Produced by Insects and Microorganisms

Source of Chemical Bacteria (Clostridium botulinum) Bacteria (Clostridium tetani) 

Bacteria (Corynebacterium diphtheriae) Black widow spider (Latrodectus sp.) Mold (Aspergillus flauus) 

Historically, registration was less comprehensive and some additives were put in food that caused toxic effects. This was usually because the right type of test was not required to register the chemical, or the incidence of effects was so small that impacts were not seen until millions of people were exposed. Most often, this involved cancer tests. Scarlet red and butter yellow were historically used as coloring agents. In the 1970s it was found that these additives contained a t)Tpe of chemical called a nitrosamine, which caused cancer. This discovery helped increase the types and numbers of tests necessary to register food additives to include cancer studies. 

Natural products, including herbal products derived from naturcd products, are exempt from regulation as food additives by the FDA because the chemiccds they contain occur naturally and have not been added by people. However, the majority of toxic chemicals we eat (including many that can cause cancer) occur naturally in our food. In fact, many toxic natural products are much more potent than any of the food additives that have ever been used. Yet media coverage of chemicals in food usually focuses on chemicals that have been added to food. The natural chemicals present in foods often only make the news when an accidental poisoning has occurred, such as when someone dies from eating deathcap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides.  

A very different type of food toxicity involves toxins that are produced during the food preparation process. For example, charbroiled meats or smoked products (e.g., fish, sausage) typically contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), formed during the cooking process (including barbecuing). Therefore, you will be exposed to small amounts of these chemicals when you eat meats that have been char-broiled. PAHs are naturally produced through combustion. They are also formed from forest fires, and are considered products of incomplete combustion. PAHs are also present in diesel fuels and car exhaust, and in smoke released from chimneys. 

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Table 2.5. Toxic Chemicals Produced by Insects and Microorganisms...

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