title: Surveillance of potentially hazardous chemicals in food in the United Kingdom.
abstract: Surveillance of chemical contaminants in food plays an important role in helping to ensure a safe food supply in those countries that undertake it. This paper reviews the methods used in the UK as a means of highlighting the essential elements required by any food chemical surveillance programme. The following topics have been covered: quantifying food consumption, setting priorities in food surveillance, developing a common approach to the surveillance of different chemicals in the food supply (including the use of Total and Duplicate Diet Studies), estimating human intakes of chemicals from the diet, developing suitably sensitive and reliable methods of analysis, obtaining representative samples, and assessing and managing risk.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, London, UK.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Knowles
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Watson
mesh_terms: D015930:Diet Records; D004350:Drug Residues / Q000032:analysis; D004435:Eating; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005511:Food Handling; D005519:Food Preservation; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D009183:Mycotoxins / Q000032:analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D006113:United Kingdom
chemical_list: D015386:Hazardous Substances; D009183:Mycotoxins