Ebook: Handbook of Plant and Animal Toxins in Food: Occurrence, Toxicity, and Prevention

The prevalence of naturally occurring toxins in plant and animal food represents one of the most significant food safety issues, gathering the attention of both scientists and regulators alike. This unexplored area related to food quality is indeed a big concern for consumers, various regulatory authorities, and food industries. Apart from essential nutrients, several food crops are capable of producing a vast array of non-nutrient secondary metabolic products. These toxins produced as secondary metabolites have the potential to exhibit both beneficial and deleterious effects in both human beings and animals. Nevertheless there has been huge progress in agricultural practices and food processing technologies, but still the number of antinutritive substances and naturally derived toxins persist in our diet.

Handbook of Plant and Animal Toxins in Food: Occurrence, Toxicity, and Prevention, focusses on various selected toxins in foods derived from plants as well as animals. The prominent plant toxins include solanine and chaconine, mushroom toxins, phytates, tannins, oxalates, goitrogens, gossypol, phytohemagglutinins, erucic acid, saponins, cyanogenic glycosides, enzyme inhibitors, BOAA (lathyrogens), toxic amino acids and toxic fatty acids. The prominent animal toxins covered in the book include various sea food toxins, shell fish toxins, and biogenic amines.

Key Features:



Presents complete knowledge about the plethora of toxins

Provides quick and easy access to major plant & animal toxins.

Covers distribution of toxins in plant & animal kingdom

Provides comprehensive information on chemistry, safety & precautions of each toxin Commencing with a brief introduction of food toxins, this book will be designed in such a way that the readers will be introduced to toxicity, safety, occurrence of each toxin selected. It also discusses the in-depth detailed information on food intoxication and its prevention. The book will also shed light on food borne illness associated with toxins. The primary audience for this work will be food scientists, food toxicologists, university scholars and college students. Apart from this, this book will be of immense help for public health officials, pharmacologists, food safety officers who are involved with enforcing regulations meant to ensure the safety of a particular food.