Acrylamide, a food contaminant, belongs to a large class of structurally similar toxic chemicals, 'type-2 alkenes', to which humans are widely exposed. Besides, occupational exposure to acrylamide has received wide attention through the last decades. It is classified as a neurotoxin and there are three important hypothesis considering acrylamide neurotoxicity: inhibition of kinesin-based fast axonal transport, alteration of neurotransmitter levels, and direct inhibition of neurotransmission. While many researchers believe that exposure of humans to relatively low levels of acrylamide in the diet will not result in clinical neuropathy, some neurotoxicologists are concerned about the potential for its cumulative neurotoxicity. It has been shown in several studies that the same neurotoxic effects can be observed at low and high doses of acrylamide, with the low doses simply requiring longer exposures. This review is focused on the neurotoxicity of acrylamide and its possible outcomes.

Contaminants are a vast subject area of food safety and quality and can be present in our food chain from raw materials to finished products. Acrylamide, an α,β-unsaturated (conjugated) reactive molecule, can be detected as a contaminant in several foodstuffs including baby foods and infant formulas. It is anticipated that children will generally have intakes that are two to three times those of adults when expressed on a body-weight basis. Though exposure to acrylamide is inevitable, it is necessary to protect infant and children from high exposure. The present review focuses on the several adverse health effects of acrylamide including mutagenicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity and reproductive toxicity, and the possible outcomes of childhood exposure from baby foods and infant formulas.

This survey was conducted to investigate the contamination by multiple mycotoxins, aflatoxins (AFB₁, AFB₂, AFG₁, and AFG₂), ochratoxin A (OTA), and zearalenone (ZEA) in 61 samples of maize and 17 commercial animal feed samples, and of aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) in raw dairy milk samples (n = 20) collected from Assiut City in Upper Egypt. Multi-mycotoxin immunoaffinity columns were used for samples cleanup and mycotoxin purification. An HPLC–FLD system with an on-line post-column photochemical derivatization was used for the detection of the target toxins. AFB₁ was detected in both maize (n = 15) and feed (n = 8), with only one maize sample presenting a concentration above the maximum permissible level set by the Egyptian authorities. AFB₂ was observed in six maize samples and in one feed sample, with a maximum value of 0.5 μg/kg. ZEA was detected only in feed samples (n = 4), with a maximum value of 3.5 μg/kg, while OTA, AFG₁, and AFG₂ were under the limits of detection. For milk, all the analyzed samples (100%) were contaminated with AFM₁, and 14 samples (70%) presented concentrations above the maximum permissible level in the European Union (EU) (0.05 μg/kg). The concentrations ranged from 0.02 μg/kg to 0.19 μg/kg, except that of one sample, which was under the limit of quantification. The contamination rates in maize and animal feeds are not alarming. In contrast, the consumption of dairy milk samples in Assiut City may pose public health hazards, as AFM₁ levels were found to exceed the international permissible limits. Further surveys are highly recommended in order to establish a database for mycotoxin occurrence in Egypt to minimize the possible health risks in animals and humans.