Chemical Hazards
Eating a wide
range of chemicals is part of our daily life. Thanks to wider application of
agricultural chemicals and food additives, a broader range of safe and
wholesome food from different parts of the world is made available to meet
consumers’ needs. Today, the international food safety authority, Codex
Alimentarius Commission, has already established standards for more than 250
food additives as well as more than 250 agricultural chemicals. Together with
natural toxicants and industrial chemicals arising from natural sources or
human activities, we might be exposed to more than 700 different kinds of
chemicals in the food we eat every day. We discussed various points on chemical
hazards time to time as well as allergens and remedies. But this article intends to discuss more
practical aspects of chemical hazards and the preventive controls that can be used
to eliminate or minimize such contaminations. The chemical contamination mostly
accidental, but it is sometimes intentional where sabotage can happen due to
intentional contaminations. Thus harmful chemicals may disrupt body metabolism,
cause cancers, damage genes, alter organ functions, affect reproduction and
development, etc. examples are aflatoxins that can increase the risk of liver
cancers whereas mercury can affect developing brains in fetuses, infants and
children. However, some food chemicals do cause acute effects, e.g. ciguatoxin
poisoning.
According to the
dictionary meaning, “chemical hazards are chemical agents that have the
potential to cause adverse health effects in humans”. Chemical hazards can
occur at any point during harvesting, storage, processing, preparation and
service. The presence of chemical hazards in food is usually less immediately
apparent than that of bacteria and other biological hazards. However, Chemicals
are part of our life, because we are bag of chemicals and what you eat is what
you are if you put it in a very simple way. Thus unwanted chemicals can enter
into the foods during various stages. When considering growth of plants and
animal which are our major source of foods, there are various chemical
contaminations such as veterinary drugs, fertilizers, pesticides and
environmental contaminants like dioxins, lead or mercury, etc. On the other
hand foodstuffs can be contaminated during processing, i.e. oil, cleaning
chemicals, insecticides, etc. The next chemical contamination can happen during
transportation due to the spillages and leakages. Furthermore, rest of the
chemical contaminations may be possible during sale of the food item, i.e.
cleaning chemicals, insecticides and such chemical leaking as plasticizers from
packaging. The major problems with chemical contaminations are acute poisoning,
long-term illnesses or cancers. 
Thus acute
toxicity caused by food-borne chemical contaminants is now very rare in
developed countries, but their much more concern now is exposure to low levels
of toxic chemicals in the diet over long periods. In some cases this can lead
to chronic illness and there is also the risk that some contaminants may be
carcinogenic. A huge range of potentially toxic chemicals may contaminate food,
but some of the main classes of contaminant important in food safety, because these
chemicals are present in our food for different reasons, which are:
Food additives
that are intentionally added to achieve certain technological functions during
food processing, e.g. preservatives (e.g. benzoic acid) can inhibit microbial
growth and colour retention agents (e.g. ascorbic acid) can retain or stabilise
the original food pigments.
Environmental
pollutants such as heavy metals (e.g. mercury, lead) and persistent organic
pollutants (e.g. dioxins) that are entered the food chain as contaminants.
Chemicals
formed during certain food processing or cooking conditions (e.g. acrylamide).
Residues
of agricultural chemicals present in the raw materials, resulting from previous
application of pesticides and veterinary drugs during production and storage of
food crops and animals.
Some
naturally produced toxins by microbes or sea animals, e.g. aflatoxins in
peanuts, ciguatoxin in coral fish.
Some
naturally present components of food, which may cause adverse reactions under
certain conditions, e.g. phytohaemagglutinin in inadequately cooked pulses and
beans, allergic substances in peanuts and milk, etc.
The
number of chemical hazards is at least hundred times more than that of
biological hazards.
The
potential of these chemicals to cause adverse health effects in humans is of
particular concern to the general public.
Contaminants
from packaging and food contact materials (e.g. plasticizers)
Cleaning
and sanitizing chemicals
Adulterants
(e.g. illegal food dyes)
Furthermore, when
toxic chemicals used for pest control or for cleaning and sanitizing food
contact surfaces and food preparation equipment come into contact with food,
the food may be contaminated by those chemicals. Toxic metals such as copper,
brass, cadmium, lead and zinc can be a source of chemical contamination. Zinc,
used in galvanized containers (garbage cans) and in gray enamelware containers
which may be plated with antimony or cadmium, can make acidic foods such as
orange juice or tomato sauce and pickles poisonous. Pottery dishes with lead
glazes should not be used to prepare or serve food. However, most possible
chemical contaminations, are taken place due to use of cleaning chemicals or
due to the byproducts of microbial contaminations such as aflatoxins,
mycotoxins etc. The major contamination of cleaning chemicals are mostly the
taint, where such chemicals must not be used in food production premises, i.e.
phenols, or perfumed soaps, especially those who are handling dairy or fatty
foods. Thus all the cleaning chemicals or materials must be kept properly
labeled containers in a spate store under restrictions of use with authorized
persons to obviate any risk of contaminations.
The presence of
chemicals is, however, regulated to protect public health, making reference to
safe reference values established by international authorities. Only when
dietary exposure exceeds the safe reference value, public health may be at
risk. Mere exposure to chemicals should have no cause for undue concern.
Intentionally
added chemicals help to maintain a food’s freshness or to enhance flavors in
foods. Check the food ingredient label for more information about the additives,
which give you a list of food preservatives such as sodium benzoate, potassium
sorbate, potassium metabisulphite, etc. or flavour enhancers such as MSG, and acidulants
like citric acid or food emulsifiers. Excessive use of any of these can be
causative to humans and some additives have been linked to cases of lethal
allergic reactions; particularly among sensitive individuals, in particular,
asthmatics. Food service establishments are prohibited by law from using
sulfites to maintain product freshness. However, they are still approved for
use in some food processing operations, for example, processing shrimp and
manufacturing wine. If they are used, the product must be clearly labeled.
Preventive Controls for Chemical Contaminations in Food
Manufacturing
The control of
these chemical contaminations are not easy, however following concerns may help
you improving the problems in chemical contaminations.
Purchase
of regulated and certified raw materials form trusted suppliers.
Frequent
and scheduled internal audits and supplier audits.
Regular
testing of raw materials and end-products through accredited third party
laboratories.
Collection
and application of new and modern food safety knowledge regarding the product
manufactured.
Regular
training of food safety teams and updating their knowledge as well as all food
handlers in the production floors.
Careful
use of additives, through authorized persons with written instructions for
applications.
Control
of all chemicals and preservatives under specific regulations without access
for all the employees under lock and key conditions.
Control
of chemical applications in cleaning and sanitation programs with written
instructions and authorized operatives in the presence of a supervisor for guidance.
Use
of approved food grade cleaning chemicals, food additives, preservatives etc.
under FDA, CODEX, WHO or any other national/international regulatory authority’s
recommended concentrations based on the consumer requirements of the concerned
country.
“All substances
are poisons; there is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates
a poison from a remedy”
~ Paracelsus,
Father of Toxicology
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