Food and Drug Toxicology

Some drugs can be toxic to certain patients because of genetic predisposition, non-selective action, or inappropriate administration of the drug. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spend a significant portion of its $1 trillion budget to ensure that new drugs are not overtly or unnecessarily dangerous. Moreover, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies spend years and millions of dollars in clinical trials to understand the safety and inherent toxicity of their drugs. Food Toxicology focuses on the analysis and toxic effects of bioactive substances as they occur in foods.