Toxins and Other Harmful Compounds in Foods

Abstract

Toxins and Other Harmful Compounds in Foods provides information on the contents, distribution, chemical properties, and biological activity of toxins and other harmful compounds in foods that are natural components of the raw materials, accumulated due to microbial actions and environmental pollution, or are generated due to processing. This book shows how different factors related to the production of raw materials, as well as to storage and processing conditions, affect the presence and concentration of toxins and other harmful compounds in foods. It shows how various regulations, as well as unit operations and processes used in food production, may eliminate different toxins or generate new ones. The real health hazards for the consumers resulting from the presence of toxic/harmful compounds in aliments are discussed, and various national and international regulations obligatory in agriculture and industry aimed at increasing food safety are presented. Methods of analysis used for detection and determination of undesirable compounds are also discussed, making it possible to understand the effect of storage and processing parameters, as well as systems of quality assurance, on food safety and to select optimum procedures for analytical control.