Current research development on food contaminants, future risks, regulatory regime and detection technologies: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Food contaminants pose serious threats to public health, with profound negative impacts on the economy, society, and environment. However, there is a lack of timely and comprehensive reviews on the latest developments in food contaminants and effective measures to prevent contamination, particularly through novel intelligent detection technologies and regulatory regimes. This study addresses this knowledge gap by presenting a timely review of the literature, focusing on current types of food contaminants, advances in detection technologies, emerging risks, and the latest developments in regulatory frameworks. The study reviewed 116 relevant articles published between 2019 and 2024 and conducted a thematic analysis. The food contaminants were classified into three categories: biological, chemical, and physical. The study identified six key drivers of current and future food safety risks: demographic change, economic factors, environmental conditions, geopolitical shifts, consumer priorities, and technological advancements. Findings reveal the uneven understanding of contaminants of emerging concern, future drivers of contaminants of emerging concern, and their impact on the food system, the environment, and human health. These findings highlight the need for future research on systematically identifying and validating the regional differences in food contamination prevention measures and assessing the extent to which these differences impact the effectiveness of prevention, mitigation, and control efforts. The findings also call for more international cooperation in food contamination research and the active involvement of technology partners to facilitate the application of cutting-edge technologies in food contamination detection and control.