[Will we all be poisoned?].

Abstract

Since several years there is a great concern in the general population, that all people will be poisoned by food additives, drug and pesticide residues in food and by environmental pollution. There is a great confusion about the real risk due to these issues. The author tries to explain these misunderstandings by some typical examples. Toxicity testing procedures used for the evaluation of chemical safety are enumerated. Misinterpretation of experimental studies and epidemiology studies are at the origin of these fears. Except for acute industrial accidents, suicide attempts and drug abuse the risk of poisoning is rather low. Often the excellent performances of modern analytical technologies are at the origin of many incorrect conclusions. The concept of acceptable daily intake, safety factors, relative risks of deaths and other safety issues are discussed.