Food is a crucial contributor to human health and well-being. However, the emergence of diseases caused as a result of chemicals in food is beginning to cause concern. Over the last few decades, the number of chemicals supplemented to food and other products we eat has skyrocketed. Nearly 2,500 chemical elements are deliberately added to foods in form of additives, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, anti-oxidants, stabilizing agents and food colours. These chemicals are truly everywhere, and impossible to avoid completely.
The use of chemicals in food has a long history. The first deliberate use of a food additive was in form of salt in order dehydrate foods such as fish and meat, so as to limit bacterial growth. In ancient China, paraffin wax was burnt to ripen fruits and this worked as it caused traces of ethylene and propylene to combine with the food. The Egyptians coloured food with saffron, while the Romans added alum (potassium aluminum sulfate) to bread to make it whiter. In the very early 19th century, a new preservation technology was developed in response to the military need for preserving food during the Napoleonic wars. Concern about the toxicity and carcinogenicity of additives intensified in the middle of the 20th century, as analytic chemistry made detecting and measuring additives easier.
To preserve the taste, freshness, and colour of the foods, even fresh fruits and vegetables are loaded with chemicals and preservatives. Majority of the chemicals occurs through naturally occurring toxins and environmental pollutants or during the processing, packaging, preparing, storage, and transportation of food. When undesirable chemicals are consumed occasionally, they potentially cause health effects, such as allergic reactions and/or adverse effects on organs or physiology (toxic effects). Examples of toxic effects include gastrointestinal symptoms, kidney damage, liver disease and impairment of the nervous system. Some toxic effects are temporary, but the effect may sometimes be permanent. It is in this context that food contamination often breaks into the headlines as a result of its harmful consequences.
Nearly 500 years ago, Swiss physician and chemist Paracelsus voiced the basic principle of toxicology: “All things are poison and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes a thing not a poison.” In other words, any chemical—even water and oxygen—can be toxic if too much is ingested or absorbed into the body.
“Just don’t eat something because it tastes good, eat something because it is good, and not just good for you, but good for everything”.
Phthalates might get into fast food if the food comes into contact with plastic packing or PVC tubing (used in food processing) that contains the chemical.
Considering the adverse effects caused by chemicals in food, it is advisable to pay special attention to what you eat. Avoid junk as much as possible and make sure you wash the fruits and vegetables with care. Although, the government regulates such chemicals in the eatables by prescribing minimum limits that are safe for human consumption yet measures still need to be taken to curb food contamination entirely. Therefore, a variety of food needs to be inspected and analysed for the presence of chemical contaminants. To reduce your toxic chemicals in food, one is recommended to buy organically grown food or organically produced dairy products. The term “organic” means plant crops have been grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Organic also refers to meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products raised/produced without being fed growth hormones or extra antibiotics when they are healthy. These organic foods come from animals that have been fed organic grain and other feed. The extensive use of pesticides in agriculture also passes chemicals into the food chain and ultimately to human beings.
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