Chemical hazards in pork and health risk: a review

Abstract

Pork is consumed daily at large quantities in many countries in the world and global pork consumption accounted for 36% of all meat consumed in 2007 and 75% for Vietnam in 2013 (GSO, 2013). Currently, the issue of toxic chemicals in pork and pork products is of concern by organizations and consumers. A number of studies have documented elevated levels of chemicals found in pork and pork products, which have potential to have negative impacts on consumers’ health. However, in developing countries, including Vietnam, chemicals in pork and health risks have been receiving inadequate attention. There have been currently very few publications on international peer review literature and little research on the impacts of chemicals in pork on consumers’ health in the country. This review summarizes data available on ScienceDirect database and Vietnamese scientific journals, to synthesize information about chemical hazards in pork, pork products and related health risks. The chemical hazards mentioned in this review are mostly common toxic chemicals such as heavy metals, residues of veterinary drug, dioxin, additives and toxic substances generated during meat processing. In addition, the review also provides recommendations for future research.