Naturally Occurring Toxicants in Foods

There are a many substances that occur naturally in foods that have the potential to be toxic. However, it is the level of exposure that determines whether the substance has a deleterious effect or not. Consequently, the distinction between natural and artificial in food products has nothing to do with safety. Whereas intense government scrutiny is devoted to synthetic substances in food, there are very few regulatory limits on the incidence of natural toxicants. Safety from these natural substances depends largely on proper processing and preparation of food, and on the inherently low levels of some toxicants. Sometimes, however, inappropriate substances are ingested and are found to be naturally deadly. This chapter looks briefly at some of the toxicants that can be found naturally occurring in foods, but which are not covered in greater detail in other chapters.