December 3rd is the International No Pesticide Use Day. What are pesticides? Pesticides are substances used to control diseases and pests, and they are also used in industrial agriculture. However, their overuse can lead to species extinction and a decline in biodiversity. Furthermore, pesticide residues can enter our food through migration into edible parts of plants (crops, fruits, and vegetables), groundwater, and animal feed. The compliance with limits for noxious agents and toxic substances in food is monitored by state authorities. However, it is true that the fewer the pesticides, the healthier the environment and food.
The research group of Chemistry and Toxicology at the Veterinary Research Institute, which has long been engaged in research on the mechanisms of toxicity of organic substances in the environment and the use of toxicological data for hazard and risk assessment in setting food limits, is now beginning to focus on studying the toxicity mechanisms of selected, most commonly used pesticides. Currently, up to hundreds of thousands of tons of certain pesticides are applied annually in the Czech Republic, although the toxic properties of these pesticides are not sufficiently comprehensively characterized, particularly in terms of the mechanisms of toxicity for humans and potentially other mammals. Last year, members of the research group of Chemistry and Toxicology prepared a study for the Veterinary Committee for Food Safety titled "EMERGENT CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS AND SAFETY OF FOOD AND FEED," a significant part of which is a review of the properties of the most commonly used pesticides in the Czech Republic.
(https://www.vri.cz/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Simeckova-2023_abstrakt_final.pdf).
Currently, the group of Chemistry and Toxicology has submitted a project proposal to the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR). This project will focus on identifying potential new mechanisms of toxicity that may be associated with a possible reassessment of the hazard level of selected pesticides. The main goal of the project is to fill the gaps in the toxicological screening of potential adverse effects of the most commonly used pesticides; these relate to hepatotoxicity, carcinogenic processes, disturbances in endogenous energy metabolism, endocrine disruption, and pro-inflammatory processes.
