# Benefits of Probiotics--Biodetoxification
## 2. Probiotics--Biodetoxification of Food  
### General Consideration of Food Toxin Deactivation  
People are endangered by many diverse food, chemical, and biological pollutants. The harmful effects of these pollutants are related to the occurrence of health disturbances and toxic damage to internal organs, including the increased risk of cancer. The nature of toxic effects can be acute and chronic. Food toxicity related to xenobiotics depends on the dose, as well as on age and individual vulnerability. There are different sources and origins of food contaminants [8]. Some of the pollutants present in raw food are natural toxins (i.e., mycotoxins) or chemical pollutants which have entered food intentionally or accidentally (i.e., pesticides used in agriculture, antibiotics used in livestock breeding), and some are applied during food processing (i.e., preservation additives). Some contaminants are created or can appear at various stages of food processing, packaging (migration from packaging materials), transportation, and storage. Food additives, whether naturally derived or synthetically produced, are incorporated into food products and categorized as colorants, preservatives, flavor enhancers, emulsifiers, or stabilizers [9; 10]. Many chemical substances are used in agriculture, in plant cultivation, as well as in animal breeding. Moreover, there are many environmental pollutants present in water, air, and soil [11]. This has implications for the global food industry and economy. The rise of environmental pollution is accompanied by growing concern for food safety and public health [12]. A wide range of foods, from raw to processed products and including all food categories--fruit, vegetables, bakery products, meat, fish, and dairy products--are a potential source of contaminants [13]. The Codex Alimentarius Commission was established in 1963 to protect consumer health and promote fair practices in food trade according to international food standard-setting and provides information on the maximum permitted levels of food contaminants (FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission) [14]. The main food contaminants are heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, mycotoxins, nitrates and nitrites, acrylamide, alkylphenols, biogenic amines, and dioxins (Figure 1) [15]. In general, according to EFSA, \"detoxification is a removal of the undesirable substance or converting it to a compound [that is] non-harmful or with a lower toxicity than the parent compound\". Non-compliant contaminations are \"(i) on purpose removed, via a physical detoxification process, (ii) broken down or destroyed by a chemical substance into harmless compounds, in a chemical detoxification process, and/or (iii) metabolised or  
Figure 1. Main food contaminants. destroyed or deactivated into harmless compounds, in a (micro)biological detoxification process. Biological detoxifications commonly use microorganisms or enzymes to modify the chemical structure of the undesirable substance (e.g., by metabolism) or to remove it (e.g., by binding to cell wall polysaccharides of bacteria)\" [16]. According to the [PERSON], \"detoxification, or biotransformation, is an ongoing, natural process of the body involving primarily the liver, kidneys, and skin to remove waste products and endogenously or exogenously acquired toxins\" [17]. In general, detoxification is a complex system that adequately minimizes potential harms caused by xenobiotics. Numerous strategies have been developed to detoxify food, including elimination and reduction of toxic contaminants or the transformation of them into non-toxic compounds. In general, three categories of food detoxification can be distinguished: physical, chemical, and biological. The physicochemical methods of food contaminant elimination or reduction are not universal. They provide the possibility of removing one contaminant or one group of suspicious pollutants. These methods are usually suitable only for individual classes of food products.