Xenobiotics in food II. Health risk of xenobiotics in alcoholic beverages

摘要

Alcoholic beverages, spirits in particular, have currently come to the forefront of public interest, namely for the health hazards they pose due to their contamination with extraneous substances. The aim of this study was to identify health risk coming from harmful organic substances, which could be promoted or raised up by the presence of ethylacohol. According to their origin these compounds are classified into several categories: (1) substances that are natural constituents of the product originating in the fermentation process (e.g. some ketones, 1,1-diethoxyalkanes), (2) compounds which are natural part of product but from the point of health risk considered as undesired (e.g. methanol, ethylcarbamate, thujenes, safrole), (3) noxious compounds entering the product through agricultural technologies (e.g. pesticides) and (4) xenobiotics entering the product at certain phases of its production from the external sources and having no relation to production technology (e.g. halogenated hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, paraffines, olefines, phthalates, antioxidants etc.).