One of the main sources for which we come into contact with polluting and toxic substances are food. Although there are controls destined to avoid the presence of toxic substances in food, more frequently than we would like, contamination of food occurs, which means that the health of people and animals can be compromised. In addition, there are diverse Types of contamination in food And, depending on whether we will be facing one problem or another. If you want to know a little more about this problem, keep reading ecology and we tell you.
Types of pollution that food can present
The ways in which food can be contaminated They are very varied and, in fact, some of them are a consequence of a bad choice of packaging materials or products for their manufacture. On the other hand, other times the pollution of these can come from poor hygiene in the health control processes. These are the different Types of contamination in food:
Biological pollution
When we talk about biological pollution we refer to the presence of living agents in food and that are potentially dangerous. In this range of food pollution, both viruses and bacteria, fungi and parasites would enter. It is a type of food contamination quite controlled currently, which allows its presence to be merely accidental, reducing a few cases the biological pollution that can be found in food thanks to the rigorous health controls that are carried out in the countries of our environment.
Natural food pollution
In this case, these are contaminants present in food naturally and that, if they are not treated properly, their health consumption can become dangerous. It is important to keep in mind that, even if it is natural, it is a different type of contamination than biological, since, in this case, we are not facing an agent that can be reproduced and extended in people and animals when they consume it, but it would be Toxins present in certain foods that would be poisonous and that should be eliminated before consumption. An example of this type of natural pollution would be the Globe fish, which presents a poisonous toxin and that, for its consumption, it is necessary to separate this substance from the edible part. We can say that it is not a pollution that occurs in the plant or animal, but that when seeing that plant or that animal as food ceases to be suitable for consumption, so it can be considered contaminated, unless the toxic substance is removed.
Environmental toxic contamination
When talking about environmental toxic contaminants we are referring to toxic substances but, in this case, they go to food for their presence in the environment. These are generally artificial substances or that, at least, have reached the environment artificially. An example of this is heavy metals such as mercury or cadmium, which pass to the environment through the action of the human being and, from here, pass to vegetables and animals subsequently destined for food consumption. For example, it is what happens when the batteries are thrown into the environment instead of managing their recycling, because the batteries are very toxic to the environment.
Discover how to recycle the batteries in this other post that we recommend.
Agricultural toxic contamination
In this case, these are artificial toxic contaminants that are also in the immediate environment of food but, unlike environmental toxics, their presence is not accidental, but are voluntarily deposited to obtain certain benefits in the cultivation of agricultural foods. The clearest example of this type of pollution is found in the pesticides and pesticides used in agriculture. These substances prevent crops being attacked by insect pests. However, they go to food and, finally, to the trophic chain of the human being. Therefore, it is best to opt for natural insecticides for plants.
Container migration pollution
Finally, there is also a type of contamination of food that is very similar to the contamination of environmental toxics but, in this case, its origin comes from the containers where food is stored. The best examples have them in some types of plastic and aluminumwhich are substances that pass in the form of microscopic molecules to the foods that are packaged with these materials and, when consumed, also end up passing into organisms.
What dangers does food pollution have
Food pollution directly affects the health of animals and people When consumed. It can be manifested in different ways but, always, it is negative health conditions of the organisms that have been contaminated and that are manifested in the form of diseases.
We can distinguish two main types of diseases derived from food pollution: transmissible and noncommunicable.
The Transmissible diseases They would refer only to Biological pollutionsince, once they enter the body, they infect it and still have the ability to infect other organisms. On the other hand, the noncommunicable diseases They would be those that, having their origin in food pollution, can only affect people or animals that have consumed contaminated foods.
In this sense, it is also important to take into account that the amount of pollution ingested will be a fundamental factor when developing these diseases. For example, if we ingest a small amount of fish contaminated by Mercury, it will not be a problem, since our body will be able to eliminate it. However, if this intake is maintained over time, it is most likely that diseases linked to mercury pollution are developed. This does not happen with communicable diseases of biological origin, which with a single intake of contaminated food can develop the disease in question.
How to avoid food pollution
The only way of Avoid food pollution It is to get the regulations on the crop, handling, storage, etc. of food and reduce environmental pollution, water, and so on. As is something complex that all this occurs and there are certain types of contamination that cannot be fully avoided, you have to think about more options for day to day.
Thus, for Avoid poisoning or contaminating ourselves It is best to avoid contaminated foods, which can be difficult, but not impossible. In this sense, it is important to know what types of contamination can each type of food present, as well as the risks that each of them has.
A good way to avoid a lot of environmental and agricultural pollutants is to choose Ecological Foodswhich are the foods that are characterized by being made without toxic substances for our body.
Likewise, another important element would go through properly clean food before consuming them. A fairly effective way to clean the fruits and vegetables of the main amount of pesticides is to wash them with water and vinegar in the kitchen stack. After five minutes we clarify and dry, so we will have eliminated a considerable part of these pollutants. Another option that should be valued is something as simple as peeling the fruit, since most pesticides accumulate in the most superficial layers of vegetables.
If you want to read more articles similar to Types of contamination in foodwe recommend that you enter our pollution category.
