Influnce of different cooking methods on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formation in some meat species

Meats are great source of protein of high biological value. It is also a great source of essential amino acids, vitamins as well as of a number of essential trace elements and consumed cooked worldwide. When meat is cooked at high temperatures, several hazardous chemical contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may be formed. PAHs are defined as chemically stable lipophilic compounds containing two or more aromatic rings. PAHs play an important negative role in human health on the basis of their mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. This study was conducted to determine the composition of PAH4 (benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene) of different meat (veal, lamb, chicken and turkey) and how these are affected by the cooking methods. Meat is cooked used are boiling, frying, roasting/baking, grilling and barbecuing. In addition some chemical properties of the raw meats were also determined. PAH4 were analyzed by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a fluorescence detector. As a results, the concentration of PAH4 varies with meat type and method of cooking. There was no evidence of PAH4 formation during the boiling, frying, roasting/baking and grilling experiments. The total PAH4 levels were detected to be range between 1.10 and 3.34 μg/kg for barbecued meat samples. Highest PAH4 levels were detected in chicken meat samples, followed by Turkey meat. Barbecuing with charcoal resulted in the formation of benz[a]anthracene in all meat samples, while benzo[a]pyrene was not detected. Benzo[a] pyrene, chrysene, benzo[a]anthracene and benzo[b]fluoranthene levels detected in all meat samples by all cooking methods were below the Turkish Food Codex and EC limits.