Endocrine Disruptors and Child Health: Food Contaminant Monitoring in the European Union

Environmental problems concerning the protection of health are often tackled by giving priority to the more striking aspects such as air pollution, caused by emissions of industrial or residential settlements or an excessive use of vehicles, especially in urban areas. These aspects are easily detectable by citizens; they affect their daily lives and, therefore, are the subject of various forms of protest that compel the authorities to take measures verifiable by all. In contrast, little effort is devoted to substances thatmightunderminepeople’s daily health in a more subtle way and are, therefore, less commonly detectable. However, these agents might be more harmful and capable of serious and very often irreversible damage to various living organisms. During recent years the European Union Commission (EUC) has placed special interest in endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that undermine children’s health through the food chain by interfering with the normal activity of the endocrine system. There are many substances capable of disrupting the endocrine system, and the EUC haspromoted special research programs for which the goal is to make a major contribution to increasing the scientific knowledge, essential for making socially relevant policy and legislative decisions to counter an increasingly widespread and dangerous situation for children’s health. The European Pediatric Association, Union of National Pediatric Societies and Associations, in collaboration with the experts of the European member societies, took part in the EUC studies to develop a more effective monitoring system of childhood foods along the European food chain, which aims to decrease the risks that food sources may interfere with the normal function of the endocrine systemofchildren. This commentary, authored by members European Pediatric Association, Union of National Pediatric Societies and Associations working group of social pediatrics, aims to raise further pediatricians’ awareness of the relationship between food contaminants and endocrine disruptors and inform all about the EUC’s efforts to develop appropriate child health monitoring and control systems.