Toxicology and Food Toxicology Overview

Study Notes

Food Toxicology

Food toxicology considers the dose and length of exposure, as well as the toxicity of a chemical, to determine the safety of a food.
The central question of food toxicology is "Is it safe?" rather than "Is this food or ingredient toxic?"
Food toxicology focuses on the toxicity of food components, both as single components and as mixtures.

Toxicity and Hazard

All food components can be toxic at some level, but food toxicology is primarily concerned with those that may have harmful effects at low doses.
A hazard refers to something that may cause harm, while risk is the probability of being harmed by that hazard.
The determination of risk, or risk assessment, seeks to understand both the hazard and the degree of exposure to it.

Types of Effects

Acute effects occur after a single exposure, with symptoms appearing within hours or days (e.g., ingesting bacterial toxins at a single meal).
Chronic effects occur after repeated exposures, with symptoms appearing only after months or years of consumption (e.g., drinking water contaminated with arsenic).

Key Concepts

The concept "the dose makes the poison" suggests that everything is toxic at a sufficiently high dose.
GRAS stands for "Generally Recognized As Safe" and refers to substances that are considered safe under the conditions of their intended use.
Toxicology is the science that deals with the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms and assesses the probability of their occurrence.

Natural Toxins

Natural contaminants can include edible plant toxins, animal toxins, and microbial toxins (bacterial toxins, mycotoxins).
Endogenous toxins of plant origin can be found in food.

Risk and Testing

Risk is the probability that a substance will produce injury under defined conditions of exposure.
Toxicity testing of a food or ingredient can tell us what the likely adverse effects are and at what level of consumption they may occur.
Even natural substances, like glucose and salt, can be toxic at very high doses.

Description

Explore the fields of toxicology and food toxicology, learning about the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms, the study of natural toxins, and the detection of toxic substances in food. Discover how these disciplines assess the probability of occurrence and disease manifestation in humans.