Hepatotoxicity

How strongly a substance can injure liver cells — its tendency to exert a poisonous or damaging action on hepatic tissue. This property carries weight in food safety because the liver processes much of what we eat and drink, so it is among the first organs exposed to absorbed contaminants. Residues of pesticides, natural toxins such as aflatoxins and other mycotoxins, certain heavy metals, and some industrial chemicals can all injure it; severe or repeated exposure may progress toward chronic liver disease. For that reason, toxicological risk assessments of food contaminants routinely evaluate hepatotoxic effects, and regulatory limits for residues and contaminants are set with liver injury among the key health endpoints considered.