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Glossary
EVISA is providing a list of terms used in the area of speciation and fractionation analysis. Since speciation analysis is a field of analytical chemistry that is specified by a pronounced interdisciplinary cooperation between different sciences such as biochemistry, medicine, biology, environmental sciences, nutritional sciences and material sciences its terminology is a complex mixture of terms used in all these.
You may search for a term or browse the glossary alphabetically.
(In case that you cannot find the term you may consult more special glossaries or handbooks about nomenclature. For more details please consult EVISA's Link pages related to terminology,
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An estimate of the amount of a substance in food or drinking water, expressed on a body-weight basis, that can be ingested daily over a lifetime without appreciable risk (standard human = 60 kg). The ADI is listed in units of mg per kg of body weight.
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"The American Council on Science and Health, Inc.
(ACSH) is a consumer education consortium concerned with issues related
to food, nutrition, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle, the
environment and health. ACSH is an independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt
organization.
The nucleus of ACSH is a board of 350
physicians, scientists and policy advisors - experts in a wide variety
of fields-who review the Council's reports and participate in ACSH
seminars, press conferences, media communications and other educational
activities." (Source: ACSH website )
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Organoarsenic compounds in which arsenic is bound onto phenyl.
The structures of the arylarsenicals that are approved as animal-food additives are shown below.
4-Hydroxy-3-nitrophenylarsonic acid (3-NHPAA) and p-arsanilic acid (p-ASA) are approved for poultry and swine. 4-Nitrophenylarsonic acid (4-NPAA) and p-ureidophenylarsonic acid (p-UPAA) are approved only for controlling blackhead disease in turkeys.
There are some compounds, such as Clark-1, Clark-2 and Adamsite, which have been developed during the first World War as warfare chemicals. Some of their degradation products (e.g. diphenyl arsinic acid) can also been found in the environment close to former production or dump sites.
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Process by which some endogenous or exogenous substances, present in small quantities, increase in concentration in an organ, an organism, a food chain, or an ecosystem.
(Translated from Parent, S. Dictionnaire des sciences de l'environnement. Broquet, Québec, 1990.)
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Ratio of tissue concentration to concentration in medium, with exposure from the food web and the medium.
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The bioconcentration factor (BCF) is a measure of the tendency for a substance in water to accumulate in organisms, especially fish. The equilibrium concentration of a substance in fish can be estimated by multiplying its concentration in the surrounding water by its bioconcentration factor in fish. This parameter is an important parameter characterizing the food-chain and a determinant for human intake of aquatic food by the ingestion route.
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Refers to the process whereby certain substances such as pesticides or
heavy metals move up the food chain, work their way into rivers or
lakes, and are eaten by aquatic organisms such as fish, which in turn
are eaten by large birds, animals or humans. The substances become
concentrated in tissues or internal organs as they move up the chain.
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The increase in concentration of an element or compound that occurs in a food chain across trophic levels
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Plants and animals in an environment. Some of these plants and animals
might be sources of food, clothing, or medicines for people.
Source: ATSDR Glossary of Terms
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 Bis(maltolato)oxovanadium(IV) (BMOV) can be synthesized by simple metathesis of vanadyl sulfate trihydrate and maltol (3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-pyrone) (1:2). The ligand itself is commercially available and is an approved food additive in many countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. BMOV can be prepared in >90% yield in water, has a molecular weight of 317 and is soluble (millimolar scale) in a number of organic solvents as well as water. These properties together (neutral charge and aqueous solubility) contribute to high oral bioavailability. With these considerations in mind, the pentacoordinate, oxovanadium(IV) complex was developed, specifically as a potential insulin-mimetic agent.
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Carbasone was introduced in 1931 as one of the antiprotozoal organoarsenicals against infections with Trichomonas vaginalis and Entamoeba histolytica. Today it is in use as a antiparasitic food additive for poultry and swine.
 Synonyms for Carbasone: N-carbamoylarsanilic acid, [4-[aminocarbonyl-amino]phenyl] arsonic acid, Amabevan, Ameban, Amibiarson, Arsambide, Carb-O-Sep, Histocarb, Fenarsone, Leucarsone, Aminarsone, Amebarsone
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HgS. Mercuric (mercury) sulphide. Most mercury mined comes from cinnabar ore
(rock containing cinnabar mineralization). The colour of cinnabar ranges from
cinnamon to brick and scarlet red, which explains its historic use as a pigment,
mainly in paints but also as a traditional colorant for foods.
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Codex
Alimentarius means "food code" and is the
compilation of all the Standards, Codes of Practice, Guidelines
and Recommendations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).
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The Codex Alimentarius
Commission (CAC) is the highest international body on food standards.
The Commission is an intergovernmental body jointly sponsored by the Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Membership is open to all Member Nations and Associate Members of
FAO/WHO, and currently comprises of over 169 countries. International
non-governmental organisations, such as consumer, academic or industry
bodies, may attend Codex meetings as observers. CAC's website can be reached at: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/.
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A dietary supplement is a foodstuff, administrated to supplement the normal diet, which is a concentrated source of vitamins or minerals, or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect, marketed in a form that allows the dosage including capsules, tablets, and other similar forms, sachets of powder, ampoules of liquid, drop-dispensing bottles, and other similar forms of liquids and powders designed to be eaten in small, measured amounts.
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"Following a series of food scares in the 1990s (eg BSE, dioxins…)
which undermined consumer confidence in the safety of the food chain,
the European Union concluded that it needed to establish a new
scientific body charged with providing independent and objective advice
on food safety issues associated with the food chain. Its primary
objective as set out in the White Paper on Food Safety would be to:
“…contribute to a high level of consumer health protection in the area
of food safety, through which consumer confidence can be restored and
maintained.” The result was the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Set
up provisionally in Brussels in 2002, EFSA provides independent
scientific advice on all matters linked to food and feed safety -
including animal health and welfare and plant protection - and provides
scientific advice on nutrition in relation to Community legislation.
The Authority communicates to the public in an open and transparent way
on all matters within its remit. EFSA’s risk assessments provide risk
managers (consisting of EU institutions with political accountability,
i.e. European Commission, European Parliament and Council) with a sound
scientific basis for defining policy driven legislative or regulatory
measures required to ensure a high level of consumer protection with
regards to food safety." (Source: EFSA website )
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Sequence of organisms in an ecosystem occupying specific hierarchical levels (trophic levels) such that organisms belonging to a superior level survive by eating organisms belonging to inferior levels. The chain begins with plants and ends with the largest
carnivores. The sequence can be represented as compartments in a mathematical model or analysis.
Source: IAEA (2000)
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The network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem.
Source: IAEA (2000)
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Functional foods. Foods that affect beneficially one or more target functions in the body, beyond adequate nutritional effects, in a way that is relevant to either an improved state of health and well-being and/or reduction of risk of disease, and they are not pills or capsules, but part of a normal food pattern.
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The International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) was established in 1980 by the WHO, the UNEP and the ILO
(International Labour Organisation) "for the early warning and
prevention of harmful effects of chemicals to which humans were being
increasingly exposed, and for the assessment of the potential risks to
human health."
It has collaborated to and published many highly recognized scientific publications.
Most
publications are availaible from the INCHEM website www.inchem.org, "a
means of rapid access to internationally peer reviewed information on
chemicals commonly used throughout the world, which may also occur as
contaminants in the environment and food." Publications include:
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This is a form of direct introduction of elements from solid samples in the ICP-MS. LA can be used for analysis of single spots from 2D-gel electrophoresis, tissue samples from food, animals, and mineral or archeological samples, etc.
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Life Sciences encompasses a range of scientific disciplines that center on the study of life in all its forms, from animals to plants and microorganisms. These include microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, medicine, pharmacology, agriculture, botany, zoology, food and nutrition.
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Dehydration process, also known as freeze drying, in which water is removed from food and other products by sublimation in a vacuum chamber.
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 o-(Chloromercuri)phenol; o-hydroxyphenylmercuric chloride
Poisonous compound used as a disinfectant.
Mol. wt.: 329.18; mp 150-152°C; Slightly soluble in cold water, moderately soluble in boiling water
The Food and Drug Administration has reclassified Mercufenol chloride (to category III, insufficient data to classify
in Category I or II) with the effect
that this product is no longer approved for over-the-counter sale.
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The entire set of enzyme-catalyzed transformations of organic nutrient molecules (to sustain life) in living cells. Conversion of food and water into nutrients that can be used by the body’s cells, and the use of those nutrients by those cells (to sustain life, growth, etc.).
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The maximum concentration of residue resulting from the use of a veterinary drug (expressed in mg/kg or mg/kg on a fresh weight basis) that is acceptable in or on a food. It is based on the type and amount of residue considered to be without toxicological hazard for human health as expressed by the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI), or on the basis of a temporary ADI that utilizes an additional safety factor. It also takes into account other relevant public health risks as well as food technological aspects and estimated food intakes. When establishing an MRL, consideration is also given to residues that occur in food of plant origin and/or the environment. Furthermore, the MRL may be reduced to be consistent with good practices in the use of veterinary drugs and to the extent that practical analytical methods are available.
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Phosphorus is one of the key elements necessary for growth of plants and animals. Phosphates (PO4---) are formed from this element. Phosphates exist in three forms: orthophosphate, metaphosphate (or polyphosphate) and organically bound phosphate. Each compound contains phosphorous in a different chemical formula. Ortho forms are produced by natural processes and are found in sewage. Poly forms are used for treating boiler waters and in detergents. In water, they change into the ortho form. Organic phosphates are important in nature. Their occurrence may result from the breakdown of organic pesticides, which contain phosphates. They may exist in solution, as particles, loose fragments or in the bodies of aquatic organisms. Rainfall can cause varying amounts of phosphates to wash from farm soils into nearby waterways. Phosphate will stimulate the growth of plankton and aquatic plants which provide food for fish. This may cause an increase in the fish population and improve the overall water quality. However, if an excess of phosphate enters the waterway, algae and aquatic plants will grow wildly, choke up the waterway and use up large amounts of oxygen. This condition is known as eutrophication or over-fertilization of receiving waters. This rapid growth of aquatic vegetation eventually dies and as it decays it uses up oxygen. This process in turn causes the death of aquatic life because of the further reduction of dissolved oxygen levels.
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A specific instance of bioavailability with reference to plants. In some instances it is useful to differentiate between phytoavailability and bioavailability along the food chain. Phytoavailability controls the transfer of a trace element from soil to a plant, and bioavailabilty controls the transfer of the trace element from the plant material to the receptor organism, the transfer factors are unlikely to be the same.
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The endpoint used for contaminants with no cumulative properties. Its value represents permissible human exposure as a result of the natural occurrence of the substance in food and in drinking-water. In the case of trace elements that are both essential nutrients and unavoidable constituents of food, a range is expressed, the lower value representing the level of essentiality and the upper value the PMTDI.
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An endpoint used for a food contaminant with cumulative properties that has a very long half-life in the human body. Its value represents permissible human monthly exposure to a contaminant unavoidably associated with otherwise wholesome and nutritious foods.
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 Selenomethionine is an selenoamino acid (amino acid containing selenium). The L-isomer of selenomethionine, known as Se-met, is a common natural food source of selenium. It can not be synthesized by higher animals, but can be obtained from plant material.
Chemical formula: C5H11NO2Se
IUPAC name: 2-amino-4-methylselanyl-butanoic acid
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A TDI is an estimate of the amount of a substance in air, food or drinking
water that can be taken in daily over a lifetime without appreciable health
risk. TDIs are calculated on the basis of laboratory
toxicity data to which
uncertainty
factors are applied.
TDIs are used for substances that do not have a reason to be found in food (as
opposed to substances that do, such as additives, pesticide residues or
veterinary drugs in foods- see also Acceptable Daily Intake : ADI).
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A group of organisms that occupy the same position in a food chain-
  
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"The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT)
is an independent scientific committee that provides advice to the Food
Standards Agency, the Department of Health and other Government
Departments and Agencies on matters concerning the toxicity of
chemicals."
The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals (COT) is
one of the independent committees that advise the UK Government's Food
Standards Agency(FSA) and other UK Government departments. (Source: COT website )
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"The FDA is responsible for protecting the public
health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and
veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s
food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation. The FDA is
also responsible for advancing the public health by helping to speed
innovations that make medicines and foods more effective, safer, and
more affordable; and helping the public get the accurate, science-based
information they need to use medicines and foods to improve their
health." (Source: US FDA website )
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