Food is necessary for human life, yet it may also contain harmful chemicals that can cause chronic health effects. Endocrine disruption is one of the important key events leading to these effects. Endocrine-active substances can directly interact with nuclear receptors and elicit disturbances in the metabolic and homeostatic system, where the impacts on lipid metabolism, obesity, and subsequent progression to metabolic diseases have drawn increasing concerns. The evaluation of endocrine-active potential is an unmet research need for the numerous chemicals in food, including environmental contaminants and naturally occurring compounds. In vitro high-throughput screening (HTS) such as ToxCast/Tox21 program has opened up a new horizon in understanding the endocrine-active properties of chemicals. Data generated from new approach methods (NAMs) may inform the regulatory decision-making; however, more case studies are warranted to demonstrate the utility of HTS data. In addition to the toxicity data gaps, the interplays among endocrine-active substances in food, gut microbiota, and obesity have also drawn increasing attention but lack concrete experimental evidence.

This Research Topic aims to understand better the exposure, health effects, and control measures of the endocrine-active substances in food.
All aspects of endocrine-active substances in food, from identification and evaluation to control measures will be approached in this Research Topic. Authors are welcome to contribute Original Research, Perspective, Review, Short communications, and Mini review articles based on, but not limited to, the following thematic areas:
* Dietary exposure and risk assessment of endocrine-active substances
* Underlying mechanisms of endocrine-active substances
* Using new approach methods (NAMs) to fill in toxicity or exposure data gaps of endocrine-active substances in food
* Identification of potential obesogens (including environmental contaminants and natural occurring chemicals)
* Predictive toxicology of endocrine disruptors substances
* Endocrine-active substances and its health impacts
* Chemical-to-chemical interactions of endocrine-active substances in food
* Endocrine-active substances in food contact materials
* Relationships between endocrine-active substances and microbiota
* Strategies to reduce endocrine-active substances in food

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Frontiers in Nutrition

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