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food toxicants and analysis > Classes/Sources of Food Toxins > Flashcards

Classes/Sources of Food Toxins Flashcards

1
Q

A toxicant that was ALREADY present in the food naturally is:

A

endogenous toxin

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2
Q

What is a foodbourne toxicant?

A

A chemical compound in food that causes adverse health effects in consumer

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3
Q

What are the consequences of contaminants in food?

A
  • foodbourne illness
  • adverse reactions (intoxication, allergic reaction)
  • Bans on export/trade
  • damaged reputation of producer
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4
Q

Define “contaminants in food”

A

Substances NOT INTENTIONALLY added, but are present in food
Introduced during production/processing/storage/etc.
(could be at any or several stages)

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5
Q

True/False: rodent hair and insect fragments are considered to be contaminants, under the Codex Alimentarus

A

False

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6
Q

Name the 4 categories of food safety hazards:

A
  • physical
  • chemical
  • microbiological
  • allergens
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7
Q

The 3 main groups of food toxicants:

A

Naturally occuring toxicants
Synthetic toxicants
Endogenous toxicants

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8
Q

If a contaminant has an “adverse effect,” what might if affect in the consumer? (8)

A 
Morphology
Physiology
Growth/Development
Reproduction
Lifespan
Decreased functional capacity
Decreases stress tolerance
Increased susceptibility to other influences
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9
Q

What are some examples of plant and animal endogenous toxins?

A

Plant: Cyanoglycosides, Lectins, Glycoalkaloids

Animal: Estrogens

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10
Q

True/False: synthetic toxins can be intentionally introduced to food.

A

True. (adulteration, food fraud)

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11
Q

What product could potentially lead to cyanide poisoning in large quantities, due to endogenous toxins?

A

Bitter apricot kernels

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12
Q

What is the difference between naturally occuring toxins and endogenous toxins?

A

Endogenous: naturally present in the food itself; require methods to destroy to make food safe, or need to limit consumption

Naturally occurring: From natural sources but should not be present in the edible food itself - presence in food is due to contamination/spoilage

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13
Q

In the recent China milk scandal, what toxin was added to milk, and for what reason?

A

Melamine

To boost apparent protein content (fraud)

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14
Q

3 examples of mycotoxins:

A

Aflatoxins
Ochratoxins
Patulin

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15
Q

What is the cause of paralytic shellfish poisoning?

A

Algal growth -> produces saxitoxin

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16
Q

Naturally occuring toxins may be present from: (4)

A
  • Fungal growth (mycotoxins)
  • Algal growth
  • Bacterial growth
  • Improper preparation (pufferfish tetrodotoxin)
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17
Q

What is the main bacterial toxin of concern?

A

Botulinum toxin (cause botulism)

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18
Q

3 examples of algal toxin:

A

Saxitoxin
Domoic Acid
Brevetoxin

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19
Q

What is the toxin produced in fish by the eukaryote G. toxicus? What does consuming it cause?

A

Ciguatoxin

Ciguatera - nausea, tingling, vomiting (rarely fatal)

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20
Q

To properly identify hazards, you need to know: (2)

A
  1. ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS

2. sources of exposure

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21
Q

What are some sources of synthetic toxins? (7)

A
  • Agricultural chemicals
  • Veterinary drugs
  • Environmental contaminants
  • Process contaminants
  • Residues from packaging
  • Cleaning chemicals/biocides
  • Adulterants
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22
Q

What is the first step of risk assessment?

A

Hazard identification

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23
Q

How are adulterants different from other sources of synthetic toxins?

A

Intentionally added (food fraud)

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24
Q

the ____ is expressed as amount of chemical entering the body per body weight.

25
The 3 types of dose-response relationships:
threshold non-threshold essential nutrients
26
What parameters does the adverse effect of the toxin depend on? (4)
- Dose - Duration/frequency of exposure - type of food ingested - other biological parameters (sensitivity, etc)
27
The amount of a substance per body weight that would cause fatality is the ____.
lethal dose
28
What is the key parameter for safety evaluation of chemicals in terms of toxicology?
LD50
29
How does the curve for essential nutrients differ from other toxins?
certain amount is necessary for life; at low concentrations, adverse effect is high -> increasing dose will normalize (low harm) BUT: increasing beyond required amount can cause increasing adverse effects. so: U SHAPED CURVE
30
Describe the dose-response curves for threshold and non-threshold toxins. What accounts for their differences?
Threshold: S shaped curve (gradual increase, then steep slope, then plateau) Non-threshold: constant slope Threshold toxins: body has some TOLERANCE and detoxification ability. Lower amounts can be handled, but as dose increases, it overwhelms the detox mechanisms and becomes very harmful (steep slope) Non-threshold: zero tolerance, even tiny amounts are harmful. (carcinogens, etc)
31
How is the dose-response curve established?
Animal tests Feed increasing doses to animals, observe death rate (or rate of certain effect) curve is dose vs % death (or effect)
32
A lower LD50 corresponds to (higher/lower) toxicity.
higher
33
What is the ED50?
Effective Dose | Dose that causes adverse effect in 50% of test animal population
34
Although today there is no distinction made between solid and liquid forms of toxins, which was previously classified as being more toxic and why?
Liquid; easier absorption/higher bioavailability -> lower LD50
35
If the adverse effect observed is death, then the median lethal dose is known as?
LD50
36
_____, found in bbq foods, is a class 1 carcinogen and classified as a _____.
benzopyrenes; genotoxin
37
Do LOAEL or NOAEL exist for genotoxins?
No; even tiny amounts will cause adverse effects (non threshold)
38
What are the WHO classes of pesticides (according to hazard level)?
Ia: extremely Ib: highly II: moderately III: slightly
39
How are NOAEL/LOAEL determined?
Experimentally
40
What is NOAEL?
no observed adverse effect level | - point just below LOAEL, highest dose without adverse effects.
41
LOAEL and NOAEL only apply for ____ curves.
Threshold
42
True/False: for some heavy metals, too low of an exposure will have adverse effects.
True | Cu, Ni, Fe, Zn are all essential in the body at low levels; deficiency will cause disease
43
What is the LOAEL?
lowest observed adverse effect level | - first point on curve that is SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT from control
44
Acute exposure is ______, while chronic exposure is ______.
acute: exposure within 24 hrs chronic: AVERAGE daily exposure over several years to a lifetime
45
What are amygdalin and linamarin? Are they toxic?
cyanogenic glycosides | No; but breakdown will yield toxic cyanide
46
What might cause copper deficiency or excess?
Deficiency: Increased uptake of zinc, absorbance issues. (rarely due to diet) Excess: acidic food leeching from copper container
47
Food toxicants have a wide range of:
physicochemical properties
48
Give an example of acute exposure, and of chronic exposure in the modern day food industry
Acute: Clenbuterol (vet drug) in Spain/Portugal - contaminated lamb/beef - cause tremors/tachycardia/nausea/dizziness Chronic: Methylmercury - Minamata, Japan - in fish (bioaccumulative effect) - lead to Minamata disease (neurological effects, fetal defects)
49
"small" molecules are typically below _____. These are mostly ____ contaminants.
900Da | organic
50
What are some physicochemical properties? (5)
``` Size Structure Behavior as acid/base Polarity Volatility ```
51
The physicochemical properties of a chemical have implications in its: (2)
behaviour/stability (in food and in body system) | analytical methods
52
What are the larger sized contaminants?
Proteins
53
What are some nonpolar contaminants?
PCBs, DDT, chlordanes, oil residues
54
A highly volatile substance has a ____
high vapor pressure/low boil pt
55
Compounds may be classified as: (according to volatility)
nonvolatile semi volatile volatile
56
Most pesticides and antibiotics are (polar/nonpolar); so they are soluble in:
polar | water, protic organic solvents
57
What makes a compound an acid/base?
presence of IONIZABLE groups; charged by presence of acid/base
58
compounds with ionizable groups will have multiple ____ that change depending on ____.
forms | pH

food toxicants and analysis (11 decks)

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