Chemical hazards

Chemical hazards
Chemical can be defined as any substance used in or obtained by a chemical process or processes. All food products are made up of chemicals, but there are a number of chemicals that are not allowed in food. There are basically two types of chemicals hazards in foods: naturally occurring poisonous or deleterious chemicals and added poisonous or deleterious chemicals.

Some of naturally occurring toxicants have established maximum allowable limits e.g., aflatoxin, paralytic shellfish toxin, and scombrotoxin. Other foods, such as some wild mushrooms, are themselves toxic. The food processor may control some of these naturally occurring chemical hazards by learning in which foods they are most likely to occur. Proper raw material specifications, vendor certification and guarantees along with inspection and spot checks will prevent introduction of natural chemical hazard into plant facilities. Proper handling and storage of sensitive ingredients will prevent conditions conducive of production of other natural toxicants.

The second group of chemical hazards are those which are added to foods at some point between growing, harvesting, processing, storage and distribution. These include the agricultural chemicals such as pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, fertilizers, antibiotics and growth hormones. The conditions and levels of use for all these chemicals are regulated. The direct or indirect use of other chemicals in foods is prohibited because of a determination that they present a potential risk to the public health or have not been shown by adequate scientific data to be safe for use in human food.

Toxic elements and other toxic compounds chemicals used in the food processing are either not allowed in food at all or have established maximum tolerances. Other types of added chemicals are direct, secondary direct and indirect food and color additives. These include chemical compounds used in actual food processing to preserve the food, enhance flavor, impart color or nutritionally fortify. Also included in the food additive group are some chemicals used in the food processing plant such as lubricants, cleaners, sanitizers, paint and coating. These food additives have allowable limits in foods in according with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMPs). At established limits these chemicals are not hazardous, but if tolerances are exceeded, potential health risks to consumers may occur.
Chemical hazards