Tracing Heavy Metals in Food and the Trophic Chain

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Toxicology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 27 August 2026 | Viewed by 6

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
LAQV, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Bromatology and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Polo III, Azinhaga de Stª Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: food additives; food contaminants; risk assessment; pharmaceuticals; heavy metals; mycotoxins; food dyes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Centro de Investigação Vasco da Gama, Escola Universitária Vasco da Gama (EUVG), Campus Universitário de Lordemão, Av. José R. Sousa Fernandes 197, 3020-210 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: analysis of the quality and safety of food and feed; human risk assessment; contaminants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Heavy metals in food systems remain a major concern for food safety, environmental sustainability and public health. Anthropogenic activities and natural processes contribute to the presence of toxic elements such as lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic in soils, water and ecosystems, enabling their transfer and accumulation along the trophic chain and into the human diet. Reliable tracing of these contaminants is essential for understanding exposure pathways and supporting effective risk assessment.

This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in tracing heavy metals in food matrices and across the trophic chain. We invite original research and review articles addressing analytical and biomonitoring approaches, bioaccumulation and bioavailability, dietary exposure and the effects of food processing. Contributions focused on mitigation strategies, regulatory perspectives and innovative solutions for reducing contamination are also welcome.

Dr. André Pereira
Dr. Liliana J.G. Silva
Dr. Angelina Lopes Simoes Pena
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • heavy metals
  • food safety
  • trophic chain
  • bioaccumulation
  • biomonitoring
  • trace element analysis
  • environmental contamination
  • dietary exposure
  • risk assessment

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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