Environmental Pollutants in Food System: Dietary Exposure Assessment and Nutrition-Relevant Health Impacts

With the acceleration of industrialization and the scaling-up of agricultural production, environmental pollutants have increasingly infiltrated the food supply chain through multiple pathways, emerging as a critical global food safety challenge. Currently, contaminants such as pesticide residues, heavy metal, antibiotic residues , and mycotoxin are persistently migrating into the food system via soil, water, and atmospheric media. These pollutants not only disrupt the physiological functions of plants and animals, leading to quality deterioration and nutrient loss in agricultural products, but also accumulate and transferred across the food chain, ultimately entering the human body and posing significant health risks.The toxicological mechanisms of these contaminants are multifaceted: short-term exposure may trigger acute poisoning symptoms, while chronic low-dose intake is strongly associated with immune system impairment, endocrine disruption, and heightened risks of cancer and neurological disorders. Moreover, vulnerable populations, including children and pregnant women, may experience disproportionate health burden due to their heightened biological sensitivity to these exposure.Addressing these issues requires dietary exposure assessment and monitoring , integrating advanced detection technologies, stricter regulatory frameworks, and public awareness campaigns. Only coordinated efforts can mitigate the threats posed by environmental pollutants and protect the integrity of our food system for future generations.Thus, research on dietary exposure pathways and source attribution for food contaminants (e.g., pesticide residues, heavy metals, antibiotics, and mycotoxins and the investigation of their impact on the nutritional composition of edible parts has emerged as a pivotal field in safeguarding public health and enhancing agricultural product quality. These studies not only help elucidate the migration and transformation patterns of contaminants across the food chain but also provide robust theoretical foundations for formulating science-based food safety standards and developing innovative purification technologies. By addressing these challenges, we can effectively mitigate environmental risks, optimize resource utilization, and promote eco-friendly agricultural practices. Such efforts are indispensable for achieving sustainable development goals, ensuring food security, and protecting consumer rights in the long term.Therefore, this Research Topic on "Environmental Pollutants and Food" primarily focuses on the following topics:● Traceability and source attribution of environmental pollutants across foods and dietary patterns ● Impact of environmental pollutants on the nutritional composition of probiotic foods during cultivation● Detection methods and monitoring approaches with clear relevance to dietary exposure and risk management for environmental pollutants in food● Combined effects of nutrient on the absorption of environmental pollutants● Effect of food processing technologies on environmental pollutants in food● Degradation technologies for environmental pollutants in food● Distribution of emerging environmental pollutants in food● Impact of environmental pollutants on the nutrition-related metabolic pathway and biomarkers Topic editors: Vincenzo Lo Turco, Xuechao Xu, Kaiyi Zheng, Xu Yiwei Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77973/environmental-pollutants-in-food-system-dietary-exposure-assessment-and-nutrition-relevant-health-impacts