ABSTRACT
Chemical toxicants entering into the food chain may exhibit biological activity in humans, causing adverse effects on their health. In order to prevent their presence in meat and meat products systematic control of certain types or groups of substances through all critical points of the production and storage is absolutely necessary. The applied regulatory measures in monitoring plan of chemical contaminants over the last decades have demonstrated improved level of compliance with the regulations. Still, there is need to implement continuous control from animal farms to the final stages of the industrial or household production process. Systematic monitoring of toxic chemical substances should be carried out in accordance with the adopted annual monitoring state plans and include the application of sophisticated analytical methods, either to ensure their absence or to determine whether their levels are in accordance with the maximum permitted ones stipulated by the law. Future trends should include identification and determination of new generation substances that could be abused in meat industry or through different pathways contaminate fermented meat products, representing thereby chemical hazards and threat to the health of consumers.
