ABSTRACT
No other types of food contaminants are as pervasive as synthetic chemicals. Not only have they contaminated most of the Earth’s surface, but some also accumulated in the vast majority of human and animal populations in only a few decades after 1940. Synthetic organic chemicals constitute a significant part of modern-day commerce. Many industrial chemicals, although not manufactured to be used in direct contact with food or feed, can become general environmental contaminants by diverse routes and eventually contaminate the food supply during agricultural production, food processing, packaging, and storage. Water is also a major vehicle of contamination, especially contaminated water used in agriculture and food processing and manufacture. Similarly, food from marine sources is contaminated by the unwarranted intentional or unintentional pollution of the rivers, lakes, and seas (Concon, 1988).
