Effects of nationwide addition of selenium to fertilizers on foods, and animal and human health in Finland: From deficiency to optimal selenium status of the population

Alfthan, Georg; Eurola, Merja; Ekholm, Päivi; Venäläinen, Eija-Riitta; Root, Tarja; Korkalainen, Katja; Hartikainen, Helinä; Salminen, Pirjo; Hietaniemi, Veli; Aspila, Pentti; Aro, Antti

doi:10.1016/j.jtemb.2014.04.009

Cited by 312 publications

(202 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Although corn tissues cultivated in soil with high amounts of Cu do not accumulate it at toxic levels, Cu represents an environmental concern, and can enter into the human food chain by accidental soil ingestion, contamination of edible plants by soil, or by the consumption of contaminated products of an animal food origin (Alfthan et al, 2015).…”

Section: Mineral Nutrition In Livestockmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review: Nutritional ecology of heavy metals

Hejna

Gottardo

Baldi

et al. 2018

Animal

160

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The aim of this review is to focus the attention on the nutrition ecology of the heavy metals and on the major criticisms related to the heavy metals content in animal feeds, manure, soil and animal-origin products. Heavy metals are metallic elements that have a high density that have progressively accumulated in the food chain with negative effects for human health. Some metals are essential (Fe, I, Co, Zn, Cu, Mn, Mo, Se) to maintain various physiological functions and are usually added as nutritional additives in animal feed. Other metals (As, Cd, F, Pb, Hg) have no established biological functions and are considered as contaminants/ undesirable substances. The European Union adopted several measures in order to control their presence in the environment, as a result of human activities such as: farming, industry or food processing and storage contamination. The control of the animal input could be an effective strategy to reduce human health risks related to the consumption of animal-origin products and the environmental pollution by manure. Different management of raw materials and feed, animal species as well as different legal limits can influence the spread of heavy metals. To set up effective strategies against heavy metals the complex interrelationships in rural processes, the widely variability of farming practices, the soil and climatic conditions must be considered. Innovative and sustainable approaches have discussed for the heavy metal nutrition ecology to control the environmental pollution from livestockrelated activities.

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Section: Mineral Nutrition In Livestockmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review: Nutritional ecology of heavy metals

Hejna

Gottardo

Baldi

et al. 2018

Animal

160

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“…The average dietary human intake increased from 0.04 mg Se/day in 1985 to a present plateau of 0.08 mg Se/day, which is well above the current nutrition recommendations. The nationwide supplementation of fertilizers with sodium selenate is shown to be effective and safe in increasing the Se intake of the whole population (Alfthan et al 2015). Because soil, climatic and cropping conditions will affect the efficiency of Se biofortification, experience gained in Finland and elsewhere may not be applicable to other regions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Possibility of selenium biofortification of winter wheat grain

Ducsay¹,

Ložek²,

Marček³

et al. 2016

Plant Soil Environ.

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Selenium (Se) is one of the elements that determine the normal functioning of an organism; it has antioxidant properties and protects the organism against the actions of free radicals and carcinogenic factors. Selenium is an element that fulfils an important physiological function (Kieliszek and Blažejak 2013), but apart from all the elements, selenium has one of the narrowest range between dietary deficiency (< 40 µg/day) and toxic levels (> 400 µg/day) (Fordyce 2007).While there is no evidence of Se need for higher plants, several reports show that when Se added at low concentrations, it exerts beneficial effects on plant growth. Se may act as quasi-essential micronutrient through altering different physiological and biochemical traits; thus, plants vary considerably in their physiological and biochemical response to Se (El-Ramady et al. 2016).During the last decade, studies related with strategies for Se biofortification in food plants for human nutrition have increased significantly because this metalloid is incorporated into human metabolism mainly as a constituent of food plants (Mora et al. 2015). Biofortification is defined as the process of increasing the bioavailable concentrations of essential elements in the edible portions of cultivated plants through agricultural management (fertilization) or genetic improvement (White and Brodlay 2005).Plant-derived foodstuffs, namely cereals, are the major dietary sources of Se in most countries throughout the world, even if Se contents are strongly dependent upon the corresponding levels in cereal-growing soils. Therefore, wheat is one of the staple crops that appears as an obvious candidate for Se biofortification, considering its Possibility of selenium biofortification of winter wheat grain

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“…Results/Interpretations: A number of publications and findings have been mentioned in the latest review (Alfthan et al, 2014). The mean plasma Se concentration ranged between 0.75 µmol/L and 1.23 µmol/L in the first half of the 1980s.…”

Section: Study Population/recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mean toenail Se concentration of adults from 2 separate studies increased from the pre-supplementation level of 0.45 mg/kg to 0.72 mg/kg in 1995. Liver Se is mobile and reflects dietary Se intake over a time period of several weeks (Alfthan et al, 2014).…”

Section: Study Population/recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Review of the state of the art of human biomonitoring for chemical substances and its application to human exposure assessment for food safety

Choi¹,

Mørck²,

Polcher³

et al. 2015

EFS3

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Human biomonitoring (HBM) measures the levels of substances in body fluids and tissues. Many countries have conducted HBM studies, yet little is known about its application towards chemical risk assessment, particularly in relation to food safety. Therefore a literature search was performed in several databases and conference proceedings for 2002 -2014. Definitions of HBM and biomarkers, HBM techniques and requirements, and the possible application to the different steps of risk assessment were described. The usefulness of HBM for exposure assessment of chemical substances from food source, and for the implementation of a systematic Post Market Monitoring (PMM) approach for regulated chemical substances was evaluated. An inventory of HBM programmes provides detailed information about study design, analytical methods, reference values (RV) and biomarkers used. Environmental monitoring and associations between HBM values and food, as well as coverage of substances and remaining deficits are highlighted. The review of study results provides information on emerging chemicals, higher exposed and particularly vulnerable populations.Conclusions: HBM can bring added value for chemical risk assessment in food safety areas (namely exposure assessment), and for the implementation of a systematic PMM approach. But further work needs to be done to improve usability. Major deficits are the lack of HBM guidance values on a considerable number of substance groups, for which health based guidance values (HBGVs) have been developed, insufficient knowledge regarding exposure sources, and incomplete dietary intake assessment. Recommendations: We recommend to foster development of HBM based guidance values and validated analytical methods/BMs, stronger inclusion of substances of interest for EFSA in European surveys, expanded monitoring of highly exposed and vulnerable subgroups, uptake of EFSA guidance concerning dietary intake assessment, as well as biobanking, surveillance synergies and targeted research, and an EU wide collaborative approach to support the future use of HBM in PMM.©BiPRO GmbH, 2015 DISCLAIMERThe present document has been produced and adopted by the bodies identified above as author(s). This task has been carried out exclusively by the author(s) in the context of a contract between the European Food Safety Authority and the author(s), awarded following a tender procedure. The present document is published complying with the transparency principle to which the Authority is subject. It may not be considered as an output adopted by the Authority. The European Food Safety Authority reserves its rights, view and position as regards the issues addressed and the conclusions reached in the present document, without prejudice to the rights of the authors. The present document has been produced and adopted by the bodies identified above as author(s). This task has been carried out exclusively by the author(s) in the context of a contract between the European Food Safety Authority and the author(s), awarded foll...

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Effects of nationwide addition of selenium to fertilizers on foods, and animal and human health in Finland: From deficiency to optimal selenium status of the population

Cited by 312 publications

References 16 publications

Review: Nutritional ecology of heavy metals

Review: Nutritional ecology of heavy metals

Possibility of selenium biofortification of winter wheat grain

Review of the state of the art of human biomonitoring for chemical substances and its application to human exposure assessment for food safety

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