Organic Pollutants in Foods: Analysis, Assessment and Resolutions

Dear Colleagues,

Organic pollutants (OPs) have been manufactured for use (e.g., pesticides and flame-retardants) or are unintended by-products of manufacturing (e.g., of incinerated waste, such as dioxins). They can be defined as a set of highly toxic synthetic organic compounds, most of which are resistant to degradation, bio-accumulative, and with the potential to be transported over long distances reaching areas where they have never been produced. They are incorporated in the tissues of living organisms and can increase in concentration through the food chain. The most important properties of OPs, useful to understand their environmental behavior, appear to be the octanol/water partition coefficient (Kow), octanol/air partition coefficient (Koa), water solubility (Sw), vapour pressure (Pv), and organic carbon partition coefficient (Koc).

The Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) entered into force in May 2004, initially covering 12 chemicals. In 2017, 16 additional POPs were added in order to solicit measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment. However, there are OPs which are not persistent but should as well be monitored because of the risks they pose for humans.

This Special Issue in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health aims to present recent findings on “Organic Pollutants in Foods: Analysis, Assessment and Resolutions” to try to fill the knowledge gaps in the recent improvements in the analytical methodologies for the determination of OPs, as well as in the understanding of exposure pathways, with the goal to develop useful tools for assessing the health risks associated with OPs.

Dr. Elena Martínez-Carballo
Prof. Dr. Beatriz Cancho-Grande
Dr. Raquel Rial Otero
Dr. Carmen González-Barreiro
Guest Editors

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• organic pollutants (OPs)
• OP metabolism
• food safety and human health
• analytical methodologies
• exposure pathways
• effects of culinary treatments
• environmental pollution
• postnatal exposure to OPs (breastfeeding)
• monitoring and human biomonitoring programs
• tools for health risk assessment
• resolutions to minimize OPs in foods