a b s t r a c tFish and seafood may represent risk for human health since they can accumulate contaminants from aquatic environment and magnify them up the food chain. The purpose of this study was to analyze and evaluate the levels of aluminum, zinc, iron, manganese, cobalt, copper, arsenics, selenium, cadmium, barium, lead and bismuth in 11 fish species (Salmo salar, Sardinella brasiliensis, Pomatomus saltatrix, Micropogonias furnieri, Cynoscion leiarchus, Caranx crysos, Priacanthus arenatus, Mugil cephalus, Genypterus brasiliensis, Lopholatilus villarii and Pseudopercis numida) captured at Rio de Janeiro State Coast, Brazil. Concentration ranges (mg kg À1 of wet weight) of the selected elements were compared with those reported in other studies. In some cases, comparison of certain elements in the same fish species was difficult due to the lack of data. Aluminum concentration was significantly high in all samples and only M. cephalus, C. leiarchus e C. crysos presented arsenic concentrations below 1 mg kg À1 , limit recommended by Brazilian legislation.

A cross section study was carried out in a farming community from Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, to examine epidemiological, clinical and laboratory aspects of multiple exposure to pesticides in a representative sample of 102 small farmers. Both males and females were submitted to an extensive protocol which included an occupation questionnaire, biological sample collection for toxicology analysis and clinical - general and neurological - evaluation. The toxicology test results showed light to moderate episodes of acute intoxication by organophosphorates either described by the farmers or observed during clinical examination. Thirteen cases of delayed neuropathies (12,8%) as well as 29 cases of neural behavioral syndromes and psychiatric disorders associated to the continued use of pesticides were diagnosed. These results indicate recurrent multiple overexposures to high concentrations of different chemicals, with serious damage to vital functions, especially considering their young age (average 35 +/- 11 years old) and the productive period in their lifetime. These results show how important it is to monitor multiple exposure to pesticides - a chain of events that may have major impacts on public health and the environment.

A propaganda de alimentos: orientação, ou apenas estímulo ao consumo?Food advertising: advice or merely stimulation of consumption?Resumo As mensagens sobre alimentação veiculadas nos meios de comunicação merecem atenção, pois estudos apontam que a mídia exerce papel fundamental na formação de novos hábitos alimentares. Visando atender a um novo perfil de consumidores preocupados com a saúde e o bemestar físico e interessada nesse mercado promissor, a indústria intensifica as estratégias de estí-mulo ao consumo de determinadas categorias de alimentos, como os produtos diet e light. Este estudo analisou 20 peças publicitárias de alimentos veiculadas em revistas e jornais de circulação nacional entre junho e outubro de 2006, contemplando: o emissor; o destinatário; a linguagem e a mensagem. Constatou-se que o discurso publicitário focou principalmente as mulheres, propondo o consumo sem culpa e prometendo a combinação entre estética e saúde. Na busca da valorização do produto, as peças publicitárias secundarizaram informações nutricionais relevantes, outras realizaram combinações perigosas para a saúde, como a associação do alimento a medicamentos e a indução a substituição de refeições pelo produto em questão. Os resultados sinalizam a necessidade de se ampliar a discussão sobre as estratégias da publicidade de alimentos, pois o direito do cidadão à informação e à saúde não podem estar subjugados a valores de mercado. Palavras-chave Propaganda de alimentos, Informação, Comunicação, Vigilância sanitária Abstract Current advertising messages for food products deserve special attention, since they indicate that the media has played a central role in shaping new eating habits. The food industry, seeking to serve a new customer segment (increasingly preoccupied with health and physical well-being), and with a specific interest in this promising market, has intensified its marketing strategies for stimulating consumption of diet and light food products. This study analyzed 20 food advertisements published from June to October 2006 in Brazilian magazines and newspapers with nationwide circulation. The following elements were analyzed in the advertisements: the advertiser; the audience; the language; and the message. It was seen that the advertising message mainly targeted women, proposing guilt-free consumption, promising a combination of esthetics and health. In order to enhance their product, several advertisements omitted relevant nutritional information while others promoted hazardous combinations with pharmaceutical products, and still others induced the target public to replace regular meals with their product. The results signal the need to broaden the discussion on the strategies for food advertising, as the citizen's right to information and health cannot be subjugated to market values.

Anthropogenic activities have being contributing to the spread of toxic chemicals into the environment, including several toxic metals and metalloids, increasing the levels of human exposure to many of them. Contaminated food is an important route of human exposure and may represent a serious threat to human health. This mini review covers the health effects caused by toxic metals, especially Cd, Hg, Pb and As, the most relevant toxic elements from a human health point of view.

A saúde de um indivíduo depende de fatores como: estado nutricional, disponibilidade do alimento, além de condições de saneamento ambiental, renda, educação, salário, habitação, lazer, transporte, acesso aos serviços de saúde, segurança alimentar, enfim, de políticas públicas, sociais, econômicas, agrícolas, de educação e de saúde (ANGELIS, 1999).A preocupação com os hábitos alimentares é crescente, e desde a década de 80 vem aumentando a conscientização do público a respeito da relação entre dieta e saúde (HICKMAN et al. apud CELESTE, 2001). Através de uma dieta equilibrada o organismo adquire a energia e os nutrientes necessários para o bom desempenho de suas funções e para a manutenção de um bom estado de saúde. De longa data, se conhece os prejuízos decorrentes quer do consumo alimentar insuficiente -deficiências nutricionais -quer do consumo alimentar excessivo -obesidade (MONDINI; MONTEIRO, 1994).Recentes estudos comprovaram a estreita relação entre a composição dos alimentos de uma dieta e a ocorrência de enfermidades crônico-degenerativas, como as doenças cardiovasculares, o Diabetes mellitus, os diferentes tipos de câncer e a obesidade (SAUERBRONN, 2003).De acordo com Couig (1993) apud Castro (2000), o conjunto de informações que são expressas nas embalagens dos alimentos pode ser útil como instrumento para prevenir problemas de saúde e, ao mesmo tempo, exercer um papel educativo na definição de hábitos alimentares. AbstractThe food label is an important link between consumers and products, and may be used for educational purposes. This study was carried out aiming at evaluating the habit of reading and understanding foodstuff label contents. The population studied was formed by clients of a supermarket chain located in the city of Niterói/RJ, Brazil -from September to December, 2003. Individual interviews were carried out (qualiquantitative study) in which a questionnaire about the labels was used and applied to 400 customers. The results regarding the qualitative part of the study showed that the main problems in the understanding of the food product labels are: the low confidence of the consumers in the information on the labels, the use of technical language, the excess of propaganda made by different means of communication and the scarce information on potentially allergenic food components. The study pointed out the need for the development of public communication strategies to better guide consumers to choose their food. Keywords: food label; consumers; legislation; qualitative evaluation; sanitary surveillance. ResumoA rotulagem de alimentos é o principal elo entre o consumidor e o produto, além de representar um importante instrumento de educação alimentar. O presente estudo avaliou o hábito de leitura e compreensão dos rótulos de produtos alimentícios pelos freqüentadores de supermercados do município de Niterói/RJ -nos meses de setembro a dezembro de 2003. Foram realizadas entrevistas individuais (estudo quali-quantitativo) nas quais foi usado como instrumento de estudo um questionário sobre...