The need for food additives and their toxicity

Abstract

The paper presents an ecotoxicological study upon some food additives used worldwide. A brief assessment of the use of food additives, the advantages and disadvantages of their introduction into technological processes and their biological effects has been carried out. Chemical analyzes were realized in some food sauces for representatives of the group of food dyes and the group of antioxidants, namely tartrazine and the sodium salt of ethylene diamino-tetra acetic acid (EDTA). The results showed the presence of the two additives in the studied products from the Romanian market, whether declared or not. Finally, the results obtained were discussed both from the perspective of the need and the toxicity of the studied food additives.

Study on the presence of toxic substances in waters from disaffected industrial areas

“…This excess of phenol in groundwater can be a danger of soil pollution as they can rise and seep into the soil being very volatile. Phenols are compounds with high toxicity, because they tend to persist in the environment for a long time, and once accumulated in the soil they can exert toxic effects on living organisms [6]. The presence of heavy metals was not indicated by the analyzes performed for the groundwater samples.…”

“…The presence of heavy metals in these soils can be observed, with maximum values of over 500 mg/kg [7]. The presence of heavy metals in the soil is very dangerous, because they can be transferred to the food chain through vegetables and fodder, and long-term exposure to heavy metals causes various diseases [6]. Also, according to the study performed on soils [7], the presence of total hydrocarbons can be noticed, in a concentration of 20 mg/l.…”

“…There is currently a growing concern among policy makers and scientists about the effects of human and wildlife exposure to chemicals in the environment, especially in the aquatic environment. Phenolic compounds are among the chemicals of great concern in this regard, as they tend to persist in the environment for a long time, to accumulate and exert toxic effects on living organisms [2,6]. Phenolic compounds are present in the effluents of various industries, such as oil refining, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, coking operations, resin manufacturing, plastics, paint, cellulose, paper and wood products [15,20].…”

“…Environmental pollution with heavy metals is also of significant importance. Heavy metals are harmful to humans and animals and tend to bioaccumulate in the food chain [6]. The threat posed by heavy metals to humans is exacerbated by their long-term persistence in the environment.…”

“…The threat posed by heavy metals to humans is exacerbated by their long-term persistence in the environment. Industrial and municipal waste generates a large amount of particulate emissions and slag waste enriched with heavy metals that contaminate the soil, water and surrounding air [6]. Such effects are particularly serious and present a severe ecological risk to human health when certain metallurgical processes take place in the vicinity of the urban environment [21].…”