[Food contamination: a problem of pediatric interest]

The application of technology in the production, processing, preservation and transport of food has led to a well known consequence: the presence in the foods of undesirable substances and chemicals, that is to say "the contaminants of feeding". In this study the authors report the main groups of contaminants as the mycotoxins, nitrates, pesticides, methylmercury, lead, cadmium etc., relating for everyone of them the harmful effects for the health of human being, of which they have come to know mostly for some episodes of acute poisoning occurred in several countries in the world. They relate also the hypothetical effects of a chronic exposure to low levels of contamination, mostly if the fetuses and infants come to be exposed to these contaminants for the peculiar embryo genetic and evolutive situation that characterizes them.