Introduction
Aflatoxin is a kind of mycotoxins, which involve all toxins produced by fungi. About 30 years ago, Aflatoxin was found when 100000 turkeys were poisoned and dead in Britain (HKSAR, 2011). Several high-profile contagions have occurred in Eastern Africa in these 20 years (Azziz-Baumgartner, 2005). Aflatoxin has been closely monitored; due to this mycotoxin can cause serious impact on agricultural crops and human health. It is the most popular researched in a variety of mycotoxin known to human disease (HKSAR, 2011). This risk profile summarizes the existing scientific information and helps to prioritize the various problems. The four objectives as a scientific foundation of this risk assessment consists are: Hazard Identification, Hazard Characterization, Exposure Assessment and Risk Characterization.
Hazard Identification Aflatoxins often arise in crops in the field before harvest, while postharvest contamination can appear if crop drying is delayed, and if water is allowed to exceed critical values for the mold growth during storage of the crop. Insect or rodent infestations facilitate mold invasion of some stored commodities (HKSAR, 2011). Aflatoxins are normally found in peanuts, cottonseed, nuts, figs, spices, and a variety of dried fruits and feeds. Milk, eggs, and meat products are polluted because of the animal intake of Aflatoxin contaminated feed (D. Dhanasekaran et al., 2011).
The primary target organ for Aflatoxins is the liver, and after the it invades into the liver, lipids permeate hepatocytes and result in necrosis or liver cell death (D. Dhanasekaran et al., 2011). It also effects on the lungs, myocardium and. Furthermore, results shows that, the Aflatoxin can accumulate in the brain, and teratogenic ef...
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—- . ”Tyson Foods: Living Food Safety." Tyson. Tyson, 28 Feb 2014. Web. 7 Apr 2014.
A toxin, produced by an animal, can be a toxicant to humans, but it can also provide some favorable uses as well. Present one such example.
The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Kallen, Stuart A. Food Safety. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2005. http://www. Print.
Botulinum toxin has a complex chemical composition and is found in various surprising locations. The toxin is derived from Clostridium botulinum, and according to P.K. and Anjana Nigam, the authors of the Indian Journal of Dermatology, it is “an anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming rod commonly found on plants, in soil, water and the intestinal tracts of animals.” H. Bradford Hawley M.D., the editor of Magill’s Medical Guide, states that these bacteria are vastly immune to high temperatures and can persevere through numerous methods used to eradicate it and to get rid of toxins for secure consumption of food and water. Since the bacteria can be found in such a diverse variety of commodities, which all can be ingested by humans, it is critical to find a way to disinfect our soil, meat, and produce against C. botulinum.
The most common route of exposure to mycotoxins is ingestion, but it may also involve dermal, respiratory, and parenteral routes, the last being associated with drug abuse (Peraica and Domijan, 2001). In general, animals are directly exposed to mycotoxins through the consumption of mouldy feedstuffs, eating contaminated foods, skin contact with mould infected substrates and inhalation of spore-borne toxins (Bennett and Klich, 2003a). Human exposure to mycotoxins may result from consumption of plant-derived foods that are contaminated with toxins, the carry-over of mycotoxins and their metabolites in animal products such as meat and eggs (Veldman, 2004) or exposure to air and dust containing toxins (Jarvis, 2002). Most importantly, the presence of potentially toxigenic fungi does not imply the presence of mycotoxins, nor does the finding of mycotoxins prove that a particular species is, or was, present. Toxin production is dependent on substrates, nutrient levels, moisture, pH, and temperature (Murtoniemi et al.,
Aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1 and G2) are considered to be the group of mycotoxins of greatest concern from a global perspective. They are primarily produced by Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and in rare cases, by A. nomius (Nida’M and Ahmad, 2010). AFB1, the most abundant and most toxic aflatoxin [(Prandini et al., 2009), is often referred to as the most potent naturally occurring carcinogen (Creppy, 2002). It is classified as a Group 1 human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (Liu and Wu, 2010). Lactating animals fed AFB1 contaminated diets will produce milk contaminated with its mono hydroxylated derivative AFM1 (Bognanno et al., 2006), known as 2B, possibly
Customers/Consumers were worried about the changes in the market for food and drugs because they no longer had a single clue of what was in their products. Food production was moving from household prepared to general markets. As food markets became more refined due to the improvement of technology. The difficulty in discerning the quality of their product heightened. With new and quicker ways make food, fears of the ingredients that the foods consisted grew. Preservatives and chemicals also instilled a concern to consumers. Health officials, chemists, and other individuals tested and proved the dangers of these new additives.
Shah, Anup . " Is GE Food Safe?. " - Global Issues. N.p., 20 Jan. 2002. Web.
Many consumers and farmers have discovered that living in an industrialized culture where the focus has become faster, bigger, and cheaper is not the best way to produce our food. Obsessed with productivity, the agriculture industry is reaping the negative consequences of creating an unsustainable environment for food production. Time and time again, the media captures stories regarding deadly bacterial contamination and dangerous pesticide contamination causing illness and death in our communities. The environment is also damaged and contaminated. This devastating trend, due to irresponsible farming practices as a result of the industrialization of the food industry, has become all too common.
To help keep crops from being destroyed, conventional farmers use many methods such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Nearly 1 billion pounds of these chemicals are used every year (“pesticides”). Because of this excessive use, some scientists express concern that using artificial chemicals in the farming process could produce unhealthy crops. People who ate it over a long period of time could suffer from degraded health and stunted growth (“Organic Foods”). For example, in 1989, the EPA banned the use of Alar which was a chemical used to ripen apples (“Farming, Organics”). This chemical proved to be carcinogenic after causing tumors in mice after several laboratory tests (“Organic Food”). As a result of these findings there was a dramatic increase of the sales for organic food (“Organic Food”). Another study found that Atrazine (one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States) has the potential of being carcinogenic and reducing sperm counts in males (“Organic Food”). This was further proven when evidence was found that chemicals u...
CHEMICHALS: Scientist have defined hundreds of chemicals that can cause cancer in animals. These chemicals are also a cancer hazard for human beings if they become widespread in food supply, the general environment, or the living and working environment. In most cases, a chemical carcinogen enters the food supply as a food addi...
Weisburger, John. Hazards of Fast Food. Environmental Health Perspectives. 112.6 (2004) A336 1 Oct. 2007. < http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0091-6765%28200405%29112%3A6% 3CA336%3AHOFF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7 >.
A SWOT analysis of the food control system in Bahrain revealed that certain strengths and weaknesses are inherent in the system. In addition to the weaknesses and the strengths, there are threats that would negatively affect the system if not prevented or brought under control. Nevertheless, the there are opportunities available for responding to the threats, making the Bahrain food control systems more efficient and effective. It is therefore important that some or all of these strengths, opportunities, threats, and weaknesses are reviewed. Conspicuous among the weaknesses is the fact that limited resources are available for the agencies and the personnel employed in the Bahrain food control system. Related to lack of resources is the lack of skills and competencies in applying modern techniques, more so in microbiological and chemical analysis. The second weakness of the Bahrain food control system is that most of the laws and regulations on food safety and control are not based on risk- or science-based analysis. In other words, the laws could be outdated and irrelevant in comparison with the latest mechanisms by which pathogens and other contaminants affect foodstuffs (Nestle, 2007). Furthermore, Bahrain lacks the technical expertise or competent enough personnel who could assess the effectiveness and the applicability of their food control laws.
Food safety is an increasingly important public health issue. Governments all over the world are intensifying their efforts to improve food safety. Food borne illnesses are diseases, usually either infectious or toxic in nature, caused by agents that enter the body through the ingestion of food. “In industrialized countries, the percentage of people suffering from food borne diseases each year has been reported to be up to 30%. In the United States of America, for example, around 76 million cases of food borne diseases, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, are estimated to occur each year.” (Geneva 2)