Toxins in food

National Research Council There is no evidence that pesticides or natural toxins in food contribute significantly to cancer risk in the U.S. ... 

Toxins in food / edited by Waldemar M. D browski and Zdzislaw E. Sikorski. p. cm. - (Chemical and functional properties of food series)... 

Toxins in Food - The Past and The Present Food Contamination... 

Aune, T. and Yndestad, M., Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, in Falconer, I.R., ed.. Algal Toxins in Seafood and Drinking Water, Academic Press, San Diego, 1993. Australia New Zealand Food Authority, Shellfish Toxins in Food, A Toxicological Review and Risk Assessment, Australia New Zealand Food Authority, Canberra, 2001. 

This chapter will focus on group III pathogens as this is the most significant group in the context of toxins in food. 

Sakaguchi, G., Molecular structure of Clostridium botulinum progenitor toxins, in Portland, A.L., Dowel, V.R. and Richard, I.L., eds.. Microbial Toxins in Foods and Feeds. Cellular and Molecular Modes of Action, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 173-180, 1990. 

Codex Alimentarius Commission (2003). Schedule 1 of the Proposed Draft Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food. Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants, Thirty-fifth Session, Arusha, Tanzania. 

Nedelkov, D., Rasooly, A., and Nelson, R. W. (2000). Multitoxin biosensor-mass spectrometry analysis A new approach for rapid, real-time, sensitive analysis of staphylococcal toxins in food. Int.. Food Microbiol. 60,1-13. 

In addition, nucleic acid-based assays are limited in that they can only indicate the genetic potential of a microorganism to produce toxin or to express virulence and do not give any information on toxins in foods or environmental samples. Use of selective enrichment media overcomes the difficulties that may arise in direct PCR by increasing the amount of target DNA and decreasing the amount of inhibitors of PCR that may be present in samples. 

It is important that specific risks (e.g. pesticides in food) are considered in the context of related unavoidable or accepted risks (e.g. natural toxins in food). Indeed, pesticides are likely to be very low in the hierarchy of life s risks (Fig. 10.2). 

The Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food (GSCTF) was accepted in 1997 by the CAC, the superior body of the Codex system, in the form of a Preamble with five Annexes.3 The GSCTF, however, does not yet contain figures pertaining to the maximum limits (MLs) for contaminants and... 

The Codex General Standard on Contaminants and Toxins in Food... 

A review of the international legislation concerning food was recently presented in International Standards for Food Safety 24 This review contains a chapter on the Codex Alimentarius General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food where more information about the development and the content of the GSCTF can be found.25 There are also other chapters of significance for readers who wish to seek further information on specific subjects concerning international food legislation. 

At this symposium on the effects of toxins in food, I would like to review three related areas that bear on this theme. 

Natural toxins in food can be divided into five main categories my cotoxins, bacterial toxins, phycotoxins, plant toxins and zootoxins. The first three are toxic compounds produced by living organisms, and are formed directly in food or transferred through the food chain, whereas, the latter two are inherent components (of plants or animals) that are harmful to humans and animals [1]. 

Riley RT, Norred WP, Bacon CW Fungal toxins in foods Recent concerns. Annu Rev Nutr 1993 ... 

---