THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE USE OF AGRICULTURAL PROTECTIVE PRODUCTIONS IN FOOD PRODUCTION ASSOCIATED WITH BIOACUMULATION IN BREAST MILK (Atena Editora)

Abstract

The ingestion of food contaminated by pesticides leads to several pathologies in humans, such as the bioaccumulation of agrochemicals in breast milk, which highlights a scenario of extreme concern, given that these products have a high potential to induce genetic disorders not only in the mother, but also to the baby through breastfeeding. The objective of this bibliographical review is to highlight the toxicological action that the use of pesticides on agricultural crops provides to newborns through breastfeeding. The methodology used was based on 26 scientific articles, which were found through a search with a filter for the English language and the Boolean operator “AND”, being carried out on the digital platforms Scientific Library Online (SciELO) and PubMed, using the indexed descriptors in DeCS/MeSH: Milk human; Agrochemicals; Bioaccumulation; Poisoning. The references went through a filter selecting those that were published between 2013 and 2023. In view of the results obtained, pesticides that use organochlorines in their composition stand out, such as glyphosate, for example, which provide easy absorption through the skin. After absorption, the substances can diffuse between membranes and accumulate in organs with high levels of fat, such as breast tissue, mainly. This way, milk from lactating women promotes exposure of newborns to these toxicological substances, which can stimulate the development of cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, and brain tumors, followed by compromised immune systems. This situation becomes even more alarming due to the fact that breast milk is the only food that provides essential nutrients for child growth, causing not only the pathologies mentioned above but also a series of chronic psychomotor disorders. In conclusion, it can be inferred that the use of pesticides on crops leads to a series of permanent and neoplastic disorders in newborns, thus harming healthy child development.