Evolving Concepts of Food Safety: The Need for Understanding Mechanisms of Food Toxicology for Public Policy

Nutrition and diet, which are fundamental to human development and health, in the context of food safety, can be major determinants in the prevention and contributor to both acute and chronic diseases. While the predominant and legitimate concern is to detect and eliminate microbial pathogens that can cause acute illnesses and deaths (estimated 3-5 thousand deaths in the United States and millions of various acute disorders), food components (nutrients, pollutants, additives, processing by-products, etc.) are major factors in chronic diseases (e.g., “metabolic diseases” of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancers). They contribute to millions of long-term health problems and deaths, globally. The objective of this “Communication” is to integrate a shared underlying mechanism of toxicity between acute and chronic diseases. The traditional separation of the strategy to understand “causes” of acute and chronic diseases, while for some practical tactics is understandable (i.e. screening for food-associated pathogens), it fails to recognize that these microbial -associated toxins work by exactly the same molecular/biochemical and cellular mechanisms as the toxicants- causing chronic diseases. Since all chemicals work by mutagenic, cytotoxic or “epigenetic” alteration of gene expression at the transcriptional, translational or post-translational levels, understanding characteristics of all three of these toxicological mechanisms is important so that public policy- strategies for prevention of both these classes of food –related diseases can be made and that a solid foundation for the concept of “functional foods” be made. A moral imperative has to be given to the critical role that safe food can make during pregnancy in preventing long-term health effects later in life.