Health Impacts Associated with Dietary Exposure to Chemical Contaminants and Residues

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue has a focus on trace chemicals that can be found in foods that have been associated with adverse health effects. The most concerning chemicals from a health protection perspective tend to fall into three broad categories: (i) residues of chemicals used in food production, such as veterinary medicines used to rear farm animals and pesticides used to protect plants used for food; (ii) contaminants that may arise either as a result of industrial pollution or can arise due to natural contamination; and (iii) contaminants that arise as a result of food processing.

To assess the risk to health from food chemicals, it is necessary to (i) make an estimate of exposure and (ii) characterize the hazard.

The surveillance of occurrence in foods (and feeds in case of animal risk assessment) and dietary intake estimates are required to estimate the exposure for these chemicals, and can inform priorities for food control and risk management.  Exposure estimates may be performed for the general population or specific population groups, e.g., defined by age, dietary preference or on a geographical basis of either the population or area of food production.

Toxicological studies using conventional animal studies, new approach methodologies (NAMs) or epidemiological studies looking at health outcomes in exposed population groups can be used to characterize the hazard.

This Special Issue aims to collect papers that (i) describe surveys of food products for residues and contaminants, (ii) dietary exposure estimates for consumers, and (iii) toxicological and epidemiology studies. The papers can cover established food chemicals or food chemicals that are of emerging concern. Papers that cover the wider risk assessment process and public health and control measures for food chemicals are also welcome for submission to this Special Issue.

Topics that are suitable for this issue include food surveys, dietary exposure estimates toxicological studies, epidemiology studies and risk assessment for the following:

• Residues of veterinary medicines; 
• Residues of pesticides; 
• Persistent organic pollutants (POPs);
• Dioxins and PCBs; 
• Flame retardants; 
• Per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs);
• Heavy metals and arsenic;
• Mycotoxins;
• Shellfish toxins;
• Acrylamide;
• 3‐monochloropropane diol (3‐MCPD); 
• Furan; 
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs);
• Food contact materials;
• Other food chemicals.

Dr. Martin David Rose
Guest Editor

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2500 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.

• residues
• chemical contaminants
• risk assessment
• consumer exposure
• dietary intake
• toxicology
• new approach methodologies (NAMs)
• epidemiology
• food control