Cont’d of Chapter-8

Food contaminants
 WHAT IS CONTAMINATION?
The presence in food of harmful, unpalatable,
or otherwise objectionable foreign
substances,
e.g. chemicals, microorganisms or diluents,
before, during, or after processing or storage.
 PHYSICAL CONTAMINANTS
• Physical contaminants are either foreign
materials or unintentionally introduced food
products( ex: metal fragments in ground
meat) or naturally occurring objects (ex:
bones in fish) that are hazardous to the
consumer.
• A physical contaminant contaminates food
product at any stage of production.
• Food processors should take adequate
measures to avoid physical hazards in food.
COMMON PHYSICAL CONTAMINANTS
PREVENTIONS
 DETECTION AND ELIMINATION
• Magnets can be used to attract and remove metal
from products.
• Metal detectors can detect metal in food and should
be set up to eject products if metal is detected.
• X-Ray machine can be used to identify contaminants
such as stones, bones and hard plastics.
• Food radar systems transmits low-power microwaves
through food products to identify foreign bodies
such as bones ,kernels,plastics,metals in food.
 CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION
• Chemical contamination refers to the
presence in food of harmful chemicals
which can cause consumer illness.
 IT INCLUDES PRESENCE OF :
• Heavy metals • Environmental
• Pesticide residues pollutants
• Antibiotics • Radionucleides
• • Solvent residues
Veterinary drug
residues • Chemicals
• Dioxins
 HEAVY METALS
• The term heavy metal refers to any metallic
chemical element that has a relatively high
density and is toxic or poisonous at low
concentrations.
• Examples of heavy metals include
mercury (Hg)
cadmium (Cd)
➢ arsenic (As)
➢ lead (Pb)
 VETERINARY DRUG RESIDUES
• The milk and flesh of animals fed antibiotics and
other growth stimulating medicines and
hormones becomes contaminated with the
residues of these drugs.
• Usually these drugs remain in the body of animal
for a few days and the animal should not be
milked or slaughtered during that period after
the administration of drugs.
• Ignorance and non-compliance with safety norms
can lead to these compounds .
• The different types of veterinary drugs that
may end up in our food supplies are:
• Antibiotics
• Steroid hormones
• Antifungal agents
• Antihelminthics etc.
 ANTIBIOTIC RESIDUES
• Antibiotic residues can cause allergies in
people sensitive to penicillin
• It also cause potential build up of antibiotic-
resistant organism in humans.
• Antibiotic residue present in milk intended
for production of cheese or formation of milk
products requiring use of bacterial or yeast
cultures may result in killing of these cultures.
This results in ECONOMIC LOSS.
 HORMONES
• Hormones have been used by meat industry
to promote growth or increase milk yield.
• Links have been suggested between
hormone residue and early puberty in girls .
• It also leads to breast cancer.
• There are also serious concerns about
environmental contamination particularly of
drinking water from faecal and urinary
excretion of hormones by cattles.
 PREVENTIVE MEASURES
• The veterinarian\animal doctor should be
consulted before hormones are administered.
• Overmedication should be avoided.
• Appropriate time gap must be given between
administering the drug and
milking\slaughtering the animals.
 PESTICIDES
• Pesticides are the chemicals used on food
crops provide protection from pests such as
insects,rodents,weeds etc.
• Indiscriminate use of pesticides leads to high
residue levels in food.
• Every pesticide has some safety or waiting
period defined as number of days.(the time
varies from pesticide to pesticide and crop
to crop)
• Food product become safe for consumption
only after the waiting period has lapsed.
• Even small quantities of pesticides residues
eaten in daily diet can lead to high levels in
the body.
 EFFECT ON HEALTH
• The effects of chronic or long term exposure to
pesticides do not appear immediately after first
exposure and may take years to produce signs and
symptoms.
• Acute poisoning signs that can be seen usually are:
• Vomiting
• Dizziness Pinpoint pupils Weakness headache
•
•
•
 PREVENTIVE MEASURES
• Minimizing the use of pesticides in food.
• The crop should not be harvested
during waiting period.
• Proper washing of fruits and vegetables
before consumotion.