A crucial component for agricultural productivity is pesticide application. Increased usage of pesticides has significantly increased agricultural output, reduced grain losses in storage, and overall enhanced human wellbeing. Globally, every year approximately 3 billion kg of pesticides are used which budgets around 40 billion USD. Pesticide use can leave behind unwanted residues that can contaminate food, the environment, and living tissues. They are known to spread from agricultural regions that have been treated into the wider environment, where they affect non-target creatures. All tiers of biological organisms, directly impacted by this exposure. Pesticides at sub-lethal levels alter every aspect of a fish's physiology, including histology, haematology, defence mechanisms, and behaviour. The same topic of pesticide toxicology is the emphasis of this article, which also addresses some important induced chronic toxicological effects of pesticides in fish and the extent of their bioaccumulation in fish tissues. The data represents the largest bodies of water, such as rivers and lakes, that have been contaminated by pesticides, notably due to pesticide drift. It has been discussed how readily pesticides are absorbed into fish bodies and how this enters the food chain inducing harmful impacts on human health when consumed.

The application of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is recognized as one of the most proficient techniques for detecting and profiling toxic metals across various matrices. In this review, different classes of FTIR, its role in monitoring the presence and concentration of toxic metals in food matrices is critically discussed. It explores recent advancements and innovations that have markedly enhanced the sensitivity, resolution, and specificity of methodologies based on FTIR techniques. Importantly, it highlights the application of FTIR for monitoring toxic metals in different food items, where contamination poses serious public health challenges. Advanced FTIR methodologies, including integration with chemometric models and hybrid analytical systems, are discussed in detail for their contributions to improving detection limits and analytical precision. In addition, a comparative analysis is presented between FTIR and other frequently utilized analytical methodologies such as Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), accentuating FTIR’s advantages in relation to sample preparation, operational efficacy, and environmental sustainability. This review underscores FTIR’s growing relevance in regulatory and quality control frameworks and its future potential in safeguarding public health through toxic metal monitoring. A visual depiction showing an evolution of FTIR spectroscopy and its applications in food industry.

Environmental pollutants which are developing an alarming situation in the contemporary world captured attention in the present research. When it comes to food safety and security concerns it becomes an important field to be studied rigorously as food contributes majorly to human and animal health. The pollution of aquatic ecosystems by heavy metals (HMs) ultimately results in adverse effect on the food chain, which is covered in the current study. Fish is considered to be one of the main components of a balanced diet plate due to its high-quality protein, which sets it apart from other dietary sources. On the other hand, it is also susceptible to the absorption and bioaccumulation of HMs at toxic levels. In our study, we have considered three different species (Nemipterus japonicus, Oreochromis mossambicus, and Lates calcarifer) of fish collected from Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu (India). Three organs namely liver, gill, and muscle were taken into consideration for the HM profiling using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Mercury (Hg) and Lead (Pb) were found to be in varied concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 1.13, 0.89–1.45, 9.95–30.66, 0.14–1.62, and 24.69–189.5 µg/kg respectively, in the studied organs of fish. Carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risk assessments were also done indicating a notable level of Pb and Cr in selected fish species. The Hazard Index (HI) for Oreochromis mossambicus was >1 for adults and children, indicating future possibility of probable health hazards on daily consumption of these fish. In Oreochromis mossambicus, the cancer risk (CR) values for Cr and As were significantly high, particularly for children, indicating a possible occurrence of acute health risk as it exceeded the threshold of 1 × 10⁻³ and suggesting a significant concern. Though consumption of fish on daily basis in such significant quantity is practically impossible both for adult and children, rendering these species safe.