Contamination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) on Processed Food: A Review

Abstract

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are wide range of environmental pollutants that commonly contaminate processed food as combustion by-products and constitute a wide range of toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic adverse health risk. PAHs as an endocrine disruptor can also interfere with the production, release, metabolism, and elimination of unwanted substance in the body or can mimic the occurrence of natural hormones. PAHs formed during food processing largely depends on a number of factors such as type of the food, heating and processing methods. The major sources of PAHs in the environment includes petrogenic, pyrogenic and biological sources. PAHs contamination on processed food via processes such as smoking, roasting, frying or grilling (barbecued) is a function of both the fat content in the food substance and its proximity to the heat source. Studies revealed that eating contaminated food substances can cause reduced pregnancy, foetal reabsorption, gastric neoplasms, increased liver weight, fibrosis, having neurological and carcinogenic risk. PAHs can be removed from the environment via the following processes of either Biodegradation, Photolysis degradation, Dry deposition and/or Wet deposition.