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Book (stand-alone)Global assessment of soil pollution
Summary for policymakers
2021Also available in:
Soil pollution is invisible to the human eye, but it compromises the quality of the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe and puts human and environmental health at risk. Most contaminants originate from human activities such as industrial processes and mining, poor waste management, unsustainable farming practices, accidents ranging from small chemical spills to accidents at nuclear power plants, and the many effects of armed conflicts. Pollution knows no borders: contaminants are spread throughout terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and many are distributed globally by atmospheric transport. In addition, they are redistributed through the global economy by way of food and production chains. Soil pollution has been internationally recognized as a major threat to soil health, and it affects the soil’s ability to provide ecosystems services, including the production of safe and sufficient food, compromising global food security. Soil pollution hinders the achievement of many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those related to poverty elimination (SDG 1), zero hunger (SDG 2) and good health and well-being (SDG 3). Soil pollution hits the most vulnerable hardest, especially children and women (SDG 5). The supply of safe drinking water is threatened by the leaching of contaminants into groundwater and runoff (SDG 6). CO2 and N2O emissions from unsustainably managed soils accelerate climate change (SDG 13). Soil pollution contributes to land degradation and loss of terrestrial (SDG 15) and aquatic (SDG 14) biodiversity, and decreased security and resilience of cities (SDG 11), among others. The report addresses the extent and future trends of soil pollution, considering both point source and diffuse soil pollution, and describes the risks and impacts of soil pollution on health, the environment and food security – including land degradation and the burden of disease resulting from exposure to polluted soil. The process to develop the report involved in-depth regional assessments of soil pollution, and the regional chapters provide an overview of soil pollution issues at the global scale that is long overdue (Figure 1). The Editorial Board comprised over 30 international experts representing the ITPS, the Regional Soil Partnerships, relevant international fora and expert groups, and the private sector. The Summary for Policymakers presents the main findings of the report, together with options for action to facilitate global policy considerations in the UNEA process. The main report is a comprehensive publication which is available on the FAO website. -
Book (stand-alone)Manual of Standard Operating Procedures for Selected Chemical Residue and Contaminant Analysis 2021
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No results found.Food safety is an important global public health and trade matter, with chemical hazards occupying centre stage due to associated acute and chronic health outcomes. There is also an increasing need to address antimicrobial resistance concerns. While food remains a major vehicle for exposure to these hazards, related matrices cannot be ignored. Animal feed for instance may contain drug or pesticide residues as well as mycotoxins that could carry-over to food either as parent compounds or their metabolites of toxicological relevance. Contaminated water is also another medium of potential exposure to food hazards. A concerted effort is required to address the need for a safe food supply and one critical stakeholder is the testing laboratory. While this requires trained and capable analysts as well as reliable instrumentation, analytical methods are a major need. Development and validation – to ensure fitness of purpose – and availability of these methods is a necessity. This manual, consisting of several Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), presents another opportunity for laboratories to address gaps in analytical methods and/or expand their options. The manual contains techniques for analyzing certain mycotoxins such as aflatoxins, fumonisin and ochratoxin in matrices that include milk, edible vegetable oil and animal feed etc. A range of veterinary drug residues including permitted and prohibited substances in animal matrices including fish, are also addressed. Several pesticide residues in cereals, fruits and vegetables are also covered. A couple of methods for analysis of selected metals are also presented.
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