Overview
In chemistry, residue is whatever remains or acts as a contaminant after a given class of events.
Residue may be the material remaining after a process of preparation, separation, or purification, such as distillation, evaporation, or filtration. It may also denote the undesired by-products of a chemical reaction.
Food safety
Toxic chemical residues, wastes or contamination from other processes, are a concern in food safety. For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have guidelines for detecting chemical residues that are possibly dangerous to consume.
Characteristic units within a molecule
Residue may refer to an atom or a group of atoms that forms part of a molecule, such as a methyl group.
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