Chemicals in Food and Environment

Abstract

This number of British Medical Bulletin has presented a comprehensive review on a wide range of problems posed by the undesirable effects of chemicals in our food and environment. The brief reviews presented by well-recognised experts in this field provide a proper perspective of the entire gamut of lurking dangers in foods consumed by common man. The seventy five page review has an admirable coverage of a variety of problems such as chemical hazards in the home, naturally occurring toxins, mycotoxins, problems through food processing and preservatives, heavy metals and water supplies, besides this, importance of analytical surveys, assessing hazards of exposure to low toxic substances, toxicological assessment of new foods and the crucial role of epidemiological studies in providing unambiguous answers in regard to the role of toxins in foods in the aetiology of some diseases in man or live-stock. There is a valuable compilation of available information on the geographic epidemiology of some of the known diseases arising from some food toxins and mycotoxins in man and live-stock.