Understanding the role of diet/food as a source of potentially harmful chemicals within the exposome

Publication date: 31-01-2026
Extent: 26 pages

Contributions by: Bozidar Udovicki and Ilija Djekic, University of Belgrade, Serbia

Chapter synopsis:

The intake of chemical substances through food is a critical component of the chemical exposome as food is a considerable source of chemicals and the perfect vehicle for daily and continuous exposure. Traditional dietary exposure assessment methods are still essential tools for understanding and managing risks related to the presence of chemical contaminants in food. Usual methods for collecting food consumption data are labour-intensive, time-consuming and costly and are still prone to both random and systematic errors. Analysing food contaminants is a complex task that presents ongoing challenges, as the field continually evolves, and new contaminants emerge. Dietary exposure models are still mostly based on a deterministic approach, inadequate methods for dealing with left-censored data and focused on single contaminants. The rapid acceleration of technological advancements has become a defining feature of the modern era, fundamentally transforming various aspects of human life, including the methodologies for dietary exposure assessments.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2025.172.13