Food contamination by lead in Colombia and technologies for its environmental management
Contextualization: Lead is a heavy metal that is present in the environment naturally or as a product of industrial activities such as the manufacture of batteries, paint pigments, and the electronics industry. The increase in its use causes industrial discharges or remains of fertilizers that contain this metal to be generated, thus causing contamination of water sources and soil. These, when used for irrigation or as a crop land, reach food, leading to health and environmental problems due to their capacity for bioaccumulation.
Knowledge gap: The increase in the use of lead has become a global problem, due to the impacts generated on the environment and human health. In this sense, it is necessary to collect information that shows the effects of a lead contamination present in food and propose technologies for its environmental management.
Purpose: Study the effects of Lead contamination present in food in Colombia and propose technologies for its environmental management.
Methodology: Systematic review by searching for information through databases such as SciELO, Scopus, Redalyc, GALE, Science Direct, PubMed and state entities, between the period from 2015 to 2023. The terms: lead, contamination, food was used as keywords. Contaminated, technologies and lead in Colombia. Articles published in English and Spanish were included, which will demonstrate the effects of lead in food and control measures used in cases of contamination with this metal.
Results and conclusions: In Colombia, lead was reported in baby food, rice imported from Ecuador, panela, fresh potatoes, bovine milk, strawberries, and bovine meat. Pollution is attributed to various sources such as the use of soils with the presence of heavy metals, illegal mining, irrigation water with traces of fertilizers and pesticides, recycling of lead-acid batteries and excessive use of agrochemicals. Most departments in the country register lead contamination.
Among the health effects of lead contamination were damage to the nervous, cardiovascular, renal, and hematological systems. In the neurological field, this metal especially affects the development of the central nervous system in children and fetuses, causing delayed cognitive development, decreased IQ, behavioral disorders, hyperactivity, and attention problems. Additionally, it can cause kidney damage, manifested as lead nephropathy, compromising kidney function, and leading to kidney failure.
Technologies aimed at preventing lead ingestion through food are based on the treatment of contaminated soil and water sources. Two effective technologies stand out for lead decontamination: phytoremediation and bioremediation.