Mites and the implications on human health.

INTRODUCTION The infestation by mites of stored products is of great economic importance and public health, with consequences to human health. OBJECTIVES To describe the mite species associated to food and stored products that cause implications to human health as well as to analyze the loss of quality and nutritional composition of infested food. METHOD Literature review in LILACS-BIREME, SciELO and MEDLINE databases for publications in English, Portuguese and Spanish with the descriptors "mites", "foods", "storage mites", "store product mites", "dust mites", "quality control", "quality foods", "chemical composition", "chemistry", "allergens" and "health". There were identified 80 articles, but only 55 were related to the objectives of the study. Sixteen references were mentioned in the articles that were found after checked for relevance. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The activity of the mites causes loss of sanitary quality, weight and nutritional composition of the infested products, with great economic loss in the grain industry. Inhalation, ingestion or contact of mites, byproducts of metabolism and feces may sensitize susceptible individuals and cause asthma, allergic rhinitis, contact dermatitis, enteritis and lead to anaphylaxis. The monitoring of temperature and humidity is essential for the control of mites, as well as better conservation and hygiene of the units of grain storage.