THEORY OF OBJECTS. ARTICLE 22. PROCESS (PROCESS-INDUCED) TOXICANTS: FORMATION, MECHANISMS, THRESHOLDS AND MINIMIZATION STRATEGIES

This article is the second in the block of toxicological works of the cycle (Articles 21–23) and is devoted to technological (process-induced) toxicants: chemical compounds that are not present in the raw material, but are formed in it as a result of heat treatment, oxidation, fermentation, refining, storage or packaging. Unlike native toxicants (Article 21), which are synthesized by the source organism itself, technological toxicants are products of chemical reactions triggered by humans in the process of cooking and processing food. The article systematizes the main classes of technological toxicants: acrylamide, advanced glycation end products (AGEs), furan and its derivatives, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heterocyclic amines (HCAs), nitrosamines, trans fats, α-dicarbonyl compounds, chloropropanols, glycidyl esters, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. For each class, the mechanisms of formation, kinetics, toxicity thresholds, regulatory limits, culinary and industrial methods of reduction are described. The central place is occupied by the concept of α-dicarbonyl compounds (α-DCs) as a common node linking interrelated reaction pathways for the formation of many technological toxicants. It is shown that technological toxicants form the second of the three groups of food toxicants and are the scientific basis for calculating the toxicity index (IT). Particular attention is paid to the fact that technological toxicants are formed even from "healthy" raw materials, and that the method of preparation can radically change the toxic load of the product without changing its original composition.