Chemical Contaminants in Human Milk


Book Description

Chemical Contaminants in Human Milk contains a comprehensive, up-to-date global review of the contamination of human milk with environmental and occupational chemicals. The book covers many different aspects of this problem, including the extent and benefits of breast-feeding, the transfer of chemicals into breast milk, analytical methodologies used in human milk studies, the levels of chemical contaminants in human milk, and geographical variations and time trends in levels. The many different factors that can influence the levels of contaminants in breast milk are also discussed. Other important topics examined include human milk contamination due to exposure of the mother at the workplace and the risk to her baby, the intake of toxic chemicals by breast-fed infants, calculated intakes and official limit values, the toxicological implications of human milk contamination based on available data from animal experiments and human studies. The book concludes with an overall assessment of the current situation, together with recommendations for future work. Chemical Contaminants in Human Milk is a valuable source of information for pediatricians and other health professionals, policy makers involved with ensuring the health and welfare of infants and nursing mothers, nursing mothers and organizations involved in the promotion of breast feeding, and individuals and organizations involved with the study and control of environmental pollution and occupational hygiene.




Residue Reviews/Rückstandsberichte


Book Description

That residues of pesticide and other "foreign" chemicals in food stuffs are of concern to everyone everywhere is amply attested by the reception accorded previous volumes of "Residue Reviews" and by the gratifying enthusiasm, sincerity, and efforts shown by all the in dividuals from whom manuscripts have been solicited. Despite much propaganda to the contrary, there can never be any serious question that pest-control chemicals and food-additive chemicals are essential to adequate food production, manufacture, marketing, and storage, yet without continuing surveillance and intelligent control some of those that persist in our foodstuffs could at times conceivably endanger the public health. Ensuring safety-in-use of these many chemicals is a dynamic challenge, for established ones are continually being dis placed by newly developed ones more acceptable to food technologists, pharmacologists, taxicologists, and changing pest-control requirements in progressive food-producing economies. These matters are of genuine concern to increasing numbers of governmental agencies and legislative bodies around the world, for some of these chemicals have resulted in a few mishaps from improper use. Adequate safety-in-use evaluations of any of these chemicals per sisting into our foodstuffs are not simple matters, and they incorporate the considered judgments of many individuals highly trained in a variety of complex biological, chemical, food technological, medical, pharmacological, and toxicological disciplines.




Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children


Book Description

Many of the pesticides applied to food crops in this country are present in foods and may pose risks to human health. Current regulations are intended to protect the health of the general population by controlling pesticide use. This book explores whether the present regulatory approaches adequately protect infants and children, who may differ from adults in susceptibility and in dietary exposures to pesticide residues. The committee focuses on four major areas: Susceptibility: Are children more susceptible or less susceptible than adults to the effects of dietary exposure to pesticides? Exposure: What foods do infants and children eat, and which pesticides and how much of them are present in those foods? Is the current information on consumption and residues adequate to estimate exposure? Toxicity: Are toxicity tests in laboratory animals adequate to predict toxicity in human infants and children? Do the extent and type of toxicity of some chemicals vary by species and by age? Assessing risk: How is dietary exposure to pesticide residues associated with response? How can laboratory data on lifetime exposures of animals be used to derive meaningful estimates of risk to children? Does risk accumulate more rapidly during the early years of life? This book will be of interest to policymakers, administrators of research in the public and private sectors, toxicologists, pediatricians and other health professionals, and the pesticide industry.




Minor and Trace Elements in Breast Milk


Book Description

The third and final volume in a series of reports stemming from a multi-national study on breast-feeding (see also Contemporary Patterns of Breast-feeding and The Quantity and Quality of Breast Milk). Responding to inconsistencies in the published data on concentrations of trace elements in breast milk, the study analyzes milk samples collected from women in Guatemala, Hungary, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sweden and Zaire in an effort to obtain reliable data on the quantities of minor and trace elements present in breast milk. The study was also designed to determine whether the concentrations of these elements varied significantly with the socioeconomic group, geographical origin, or nutritional status of the mothers. The book opens with a brief explanation of the biochemical functions of trace elements and the association of deficiencies with various disorders of growth and development. The second chapter explains the careful design of the study, which used standardized procedures for the collection of samples, a single reference analytical laboratory for each element, and appropriate analytical reference materials. Results are then presented for total dry matter and for antimony, arsenic, cadmium, calcium, chlorine, chromium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iodine, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, tin, vanadium, and zinc. For each element, information is given on any observed differences between study areas, variations in samples between urban and rural areas, and variations in concentrations according to time of year. A discussion of findings compares results of the study with data from the literature, assesses sources of variation in the elemental composition of human milk, and compares the observed daily intake of minor and trace elements with recommended intake. The book concludes that when minor and trace elements are determined under similar conditions in the breast milk of groups of mothers living in different parts of the world, environmental conditions play a major role in determining concentrations. Findings from the study should also prove useful in the formulation of recommendations regarding levels of trace elements in the diet of infants.







Drugs and Human Lactation


Book Description

Now in its second edition, Drugs and Human Lactation is a comprehensive guide to the content and consequences of xenobiotics and micronutrients in human milk, and remains by far the most thorough and extensive work available on this subject. The excellent methodology used for the compilation of the 1st edition has been retained.It begins with an outline of the processes by which substances enter milk during its formation, the effects of drugs on the milk production process, the main determinants of drug excretion into milk and their disposition in the child. There follows an analysis of current data on 234 individual drugs, describing the extent of their passage into human milk, and assessing the risk to the suckling infant. Vitamins and essential trace elements, and radiopharmaceuticals are similarly reviewed. Also included is an account of the factors that influence the passage of environmental and occupational chemicals into milk. The result is a complete overview of what is known and proven, with clear pointers to matters which require further study, and brings the various subject areas up to date. Risks, uncertainties and false alarms which exist have been defined in such a way that they can be avoided.Once again, Drugs and Human Lactation provides a comprehensive guide to the content and consequences of substances in milk. The volume will provide a rational basis for making therapeutic decisions in women who seek to breast-feed.Reproductive Immunology on the first edition: ...a superbly written compendium of reliable information and sensible conclusions and recommendations.




The Use of Drugs in Food Animals


Book Description

The use of drugs in food animal production has resulted in benefits throughout the food industry; however, their use has also raised public health safety concerns. The Use of Drugs in Food Animals provides an overview of why and how drugs are used in the major food-producing animal industriesâ€"poultry, dairy, beef, swine, and aquaculture. The volume discusses the prevalence of human pathogens in foods of animal origin. It also addresses the transfer of resistance in animal microbes to human pathogens and the resulting risk of human disease. The committee offers analysis and insight into these areas: Monitoring of drug residues. The book provides a brief overview of how the FDA and USDA monitor drug residues in foods of animal origin and describes quality assurance programs initiated by the poultry, dairy, beef, and swine industries. Antibiotic resistance. The committee reports what is known about this controversial problem and its potential effect on human health. The volume also looks at how drug use may be minimized with new approaches in genetics, nutrition, and animal management.




Infant Formula


Book Description

Infant formulas are unique because they are the only source of nutrition for many infants during the first 4 to 6 months of life. They are critical to infant health since they must safely support growth and development during a period when the consequences on inadequate nutrition are most severe. Existing guidelines and regulations for evaluating the safety of conventional food ingredients (e.g., vitamins and minerals) added to infant formulas have worked well in the past; however they are not sufficient to address the diversity of potential new ingredients proposed by manufacturers to develop formulas that mimic the perceived and potential benefits of human milk. This book, prepared at the request of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada, addresses the regulatory and research issues that are critical in assessing the safety of the addition of new ingredients to infants.




Global Contamination Trends of Persistent Organic Chemicals


Book Description

Environmental pollution by man-made persistent organic chemicals (POCs) has been a serious global issue for over half a century. POCs are prevalent in air, water, soil, and organisms including wildlife and humans throughout the world. They do not degrade and cause long-term effect in organisms. Exposure to certain POCs may result in serious environ




Hormone-Disruptive Chemical Contaminants in Food


Book Description

Today, we are surrounded by a multitude of different chemicals that are essential components of our everyday life. As a consequence, there are various hazardous substances like dioxins, phthalates and flame-retardants circulating in the environment. These have an impact on ecosystems, wildlife and possibly human health. In recent years, the phenomenon called endocrine disruption has raised considerable concern. This book discusses the scientific basis of this issue using epidemiological and experimental in vitro and in vivo data about chemicals targeting the hormonal systems. It also provides an up-to-date review of international initiatives (including high-throughput screening, use of model organisms and in silico applications) aiming to screen, detect and functionally test these chemicals. The authors are highly experienced academics and acknowledged experts with both multidisciplinary and international expertise. The book provides an up-to-date, in-depth review of the current field of food safety research describing many of the "hot topics" currently debated. Recent media attention concerning, for example, dioxins in meat and bisphenol A in baby bottles has created a growing interest in food safety-related issues from both consumers and authorities. In addition, European legislation REACH, which requires industry to extensively test chemicals, has led to new initiatives within this area. This book presents a comprehensive overview of the recent international initiatives formed to meet the challenges of environmental pollutants in our food.