Environmental Contaminant Exposure and Intake from Agricultural Products

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental contaminants are toxic substances that can be found in air, soil, and water, mainly as a consequence of human activities. They include a very large number of compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), dioxins (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), metals, and metalloids. All these contaminants, once released into the environment, can enter the food chain and pose a risk for living organisms. Therefore, their occurrence in food deserves great attention due the potential detrimental health effects that they can provoke.

In particular, environmental contaminant bioaccumulation in agricultural products is an issue of great concern due to the high consumption of this food category; in fact, plant-based diets are highly promoted as they have several beneficial effects on health. Hence, assessing the exposure and intake of environmental contaminants through the consumption of agricultural products are a priority to ensure food safety and human health. Agricultural products are also intended for livestock feed; therefore, studying the feed contamination and animal exposure is also an essential condition to safeguard both human and animal health.

This Special Issue focuses on the study of environmental contaminant exposure and intake from agricultural products. In this regard, original research articles, short communications, and reviews are welcome and may include, but are not limited to, the following topics: persistent organic pollutants (POPs); endocrine disruptors; emerging contaminants; metals and metalloids; novel analytical methods; targeted and untargeted analyses; food safety; feed safety; risk assessment; and exposure models.

Dr. Sara Lambiase
Dr. Mauro Esposito
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• persistent organic pollutants
• metals and metalloids
• emerging contaminants
• targeted and untargeted analyses
• food safety
• feed safety
• risk assessment