Chemical Contamination
- Contamination of food by chemicals from cleaning sprays pesticides, fertilizers, veterinary drugs and ink.
- Chemicals can be introduced into food during growth, delivery, storage preparation, processing, service or display.
Examples include:
- Cleaning products accidentally sprayed onto food.
- Industrial processing chemicals
- Agricultural chemicals
- Pesticides and pest bait.
- Mercury in sea water getting into shellfish
- Some metals used for utensils and containers may enter food in the cooking process, e.g., tin/iron from cans.
- Prolonged storage or open tins of food (especially acidic foods like citrus fruits or tomatoes) may allow the metal to oxidise and enter the food chain.