Chemical Contaminants and Additives in the Food Chain: Advanced Surveillance, Bioavailability, and Dietary Risk Assessment

The integrity of the modern food supply chain is continuously threatened by the presence of natural toxins, man-made contaminants, and the misuse of food additives, posing a critical and multidimensional global public health challenge. The pathways through which these agents enter the human and animal feed chains are complex and interconnected. They arise from chemical residues (including pesticides, veterinary drugs, and heavy metals), natural toxins (such as mycotoxins, plant toxins, and marine biotoxins), environmental pollutants, and process-induced contaminants or substances migrating from food packaging. These contaminants infiltrate food systems at various stages—from agricultural production and industrial manufacturing to local processing, urban storage, and informal market distribution.Crucially, understanding the behavior and real-world impact of these chemical hazards requires going beyond raw detection. The risk profile of a contaminant is fundamentally shaped by factors affecting its stability, occurrence levels, and ultimate bioavailability during food processing, packaging, and household preparation. In many rapidly developing regions and informal urban food economies, a lack of harmonized monitoring and localized surveillance data limits our understanding of actual dietary exposure. This transforms chemical food safety from a standard regulatory requirement into a pressing public health concern that dictates human disease burdens and impacts trade equity.Risk assessment emerges as an indispensable tool for managing these dangers. By systematically utilizing validated analytical methods to collect robust surveillance data, food safety authorities can identify hazards, quantify human exposure, and characterize long-term risks. A structured, data-driven approach allows policymakers, scientists, and regulators to establish realistic maximum residue limits (MRLs), design targeted interventions, and evaluate the efficacy of novel, sustainable detoxification and processing practices. Embedding robust chemical surveillance into food governance ensures that public health policies protect the most vulnerable consumers across both formal and informal food systems.This Research Topic aims to compile multidisciplinary perspectives on the occurrence, behavior, and public health risks of chemical contaminants and additives across the entire food and feed chain. It seeks to investigate the pathways, persistence, and levels of designated chemical hazards while advancing the development, application, and refinement of validated surveillance methodologies. Additionally, the collection aims to explore how food processing, storage, and packaging technologies alter the biochemistry and bioavailability of these substances. Highlighting innovative mitigation strategies, sustainable detoxification technologies, and evidence-based risk assessment frameworks is central to this effort. Ultimately, the topic aims to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue among experts in analytical chemistry, toxicology, and public health, food technology, and regulatory governance to develop comprehensive, data-driven solutions for chemical food safety.The collection welcomes original research, reviews, systematic reviews, perspectives, and policy analyses from researchers, practitioners, and policymakers that address the intersections of chemical food safety, exposure monitoring, and risk management.Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:· Pathways and occurrence of chemical residues: Comprehensive surveillance data on veterinary drug residues, pesticides, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants in human food and animal feed.· Natural toxins and biotoxins: Epidemiology, tracking, and occurrence levels of mycotoxins, plant toxins, and marine biotoxins within various agro-ecological contexts.· Process contaminants and packaging migration: Mechanisms, tracking, and risk evaluation of contaminants derived from food processing (e.g., acrylamide) and chemical migration from sustainable or traditional food packaging.· Food additives and authenticity: Evaluation of the usage, levels, and potential risks associated with food colors, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, flavourings, and the detection of food adulteration.· Biochemistry and bioavailability: Insights into factors affecting the levels, stability, degradation, and bioavailability of contaminants during production, storage, and processing.· Advanced and validated analytical methodologies: Development and refinement of high-quality, validated detection methods that meet international standardizations for food safety monitoring.· Dietary exposure and risk assessment models: Frameworks and multi-level analyses evaluating the likelihood, severity, and distribution of chemical dietary risks in both formal markets and informal urban food systems (e.g., street food chains).· Policy, governance, and regulatory frameworks: Comparative assessments of regulatory interventions, maximum residue limits (MRLs), and monitoring compliance at local, national, and international levels.· Innovative mitigation and detoxification strategies: Novel technologies, processing methods, and sustainable practices designed to prevent, detect, or reduce chemical contamination across the food supply chain. Topic editors: Omar Ait El Alia, Khalid Boutoial, MORAD KADDOURI, Kebede Amenu, Seblework Mekonen Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82104/chemical-contaminants-and-additives-in-the-food-chain-advanced-surveillance-bioavailability-and-dietary-risk-assessment