Estrogens have been implicated in cancer at hormone-responsive sites, such as the breast, ovaries, endometrium and prostate. Because cows’ milk contains estrogens, some authors have suggested that its consumption may contribute to the risk of cancer at these sites. However, these reports do not recognize the complex mechanisms these cells possess to regulate estradiol levels. Hormone-responsive...

Food additives have been used throughout history to perform specific functions in foods. A comprehensive framework of legislation is in place within Europe to control the use of additives in the food supply and ensure they pose no risk to human health. Further to this, exposure assessments are regularly carried out to monitor population intakes and verify that intakes are not above acceptable l...

(a) Acceptable daily intake (ADI). The ADI for total residues of virginiamycin is 250 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day. (b) Tolerances—(1) Swine. Tolerances are established for residues of virginiamycin in uncooked edible tissues of 0.4 part per million (ppm) in kidney, skin, and fat, 0.3 ppm in liver, and 0.1 ppm in muscle. (2) Broiler chickens and cattle. A tolerance for residue...

Until the 1990s the 1,1,1-trichloro-bis-2,2'-(4chlorophenyl) ethane (DDT) was sprayed in the walls of the house along the Madeira River basin, Brazilian Amazon, a region well known for its large number of malaria cases. In 1910, Oswaldo Cruz described the presence of malaria in 100% of the population living in some localities from the Madeira River basin. Data available in the literature point ...

In malaria-endemic areas, where DDT is still used for vector control by indoor residual spraying (IRS), the concentrations of DDT in human blood and breast milk are high, and there are indications of human health impacts. To identify the possible avenues of exposure reduction, we created the concept of a Total Homestead Environment Approach (THEA). THEA characterizes the interactions between DD...

In the present study, a quantitative dietary exposure assessment of mycotoxins and their masked forms was conducted on a national representative sample of the Belgian population using the contamination data of cereal-based foods. Cereal-based food products (n=174) were analysed for the occurrence of deoxynivalenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, zearalenone, α-zearalenol, β-ze...

A "safe" or sub-threshold dose is often estimated for oral toxicity of substances in order to protect humans from adverse health effects. This dose is referred to by several terms: reference dose (RfD), tolerable daily intake (TDI), and acceptable daily intake (ADI). Similarly, tolerable concentration (TC), and reference concentration (RfQ are commonly used terms for a "safe" concentration for ...

The objective was to conduct a dietary risk assessment of pesticides registered in Brazil up to 14 January 2004. The theoretical maximum daily intake (TMDI) was calculated for 275 compounds using the Brazilian maximum residue limits (MRL) and food consumption. The chronic dietary risk assessment was conducted by comparing the TMDI with the Brazilian acceptable daily intake (ADI) or, when not av...

Formation of nitrite from ingested nitrate can result in several adverse health effects and implies a genotoxic risk as a consequence of endogenous formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds. We studied the formation of volatile N-nitrosamines after intake of nitrate at the acceptable daily intake (ADI) level in combination with a fish meal rich in amines as nitrosatable precursors. Twenty-f...

To develop a suitable biomonitor of metal pollution in watersheds, we examined trends in exposure to nine trace elements in the diet (benthic invertebrates and fish), feathers (n = 104), and feces (n = 14) of an aquatic passerine, the American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), from the Chilliwack watershed in British Columbia, Canada. We hypothesized that key differences may exist in exposure to meta...