Analysis of food toxins and toxicants

Food safety compromised by food toxins and toxicants is a widely discussed global issue. Over the past two decades, we have experienced various food crises and many of them have caused profound impacts on people′s health and the business of food industry. In addition, the absence of well–developed food management and measurement systems inevitably lead to potentially life threatening exposures and resource waste. Provision of reliable measurement methods based on advanced and versatile technologies is an important prerequisite for investigating the cause of food poisoning incidents and preventing the occurrences of food catastrophes. Analysis of Food Toxins and Toxicants consists of five sections providing up–to–date descriptions of the analytical approaches used to detect a range of food toxins. Part I reviews the recent developments in analytical technology including sample pre–treatment and food additives. Part II covers the novel analysis of microbial and plant toxins including plant pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Part III focuses on marine toxins in fish and shellfish. Part IV discusses biogenic amines and common food toxicants, such as pesticides and heavy metals. Part V summarizes quality assurance and the recent developments in regulatory limits for toxins, toxicants and allergens, including discussions on laboratory accreditation and reference materials. This book provides a comprehensive review and practical guidance for scientists, analytical chemists and food scientists both in industry and academia, on how to choose the most appropriate and effective methodology and technology to identify food toxins and toxicants.