Chem. Hazards in Food & Feed

A contaminant in food and feed is defined as any substance not intentionally added but present in such food or feed as a result of the production, manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or storage, or as a result of environmental contamination, which can lead to major public hazards (FAO and WHO, 2019). 

Methanol is a colourless, volatile liquid. Categorized as an alcohol, methanol is commonly used as a solvent and reagent in an array of industrial applications. Outbreaks of methanol poisoning most commonly arise from the consumption of adulterated or informally produced spirit drinks (adapted from NCBI, 2024 and WHO, 2014). 

Substandard and falsified medical products are defined as those that may cause harm to patients and fail to treat the diseases for which they were intended (WHO, 2018).

Marine toxins (biotoxins) are naturally occurring, toxic substances, mostly caused by certain types of marine organisms such as toxic algae, but also by bacteria. These toxins can accumulate in fish and shellfish, causing significant public health concerns due to their potential to cause a wide range of adverse health effects.