Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the airborne release of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) as a result of the dry-heat cooking of some meats using charcoal grilling and pan-broiling methods. Three types of meat (beef sirloin, pork belly, and duck) were chosen and cooked in a temporary building using the above methods. Air samples were collected in Thermosorb-N cartridges, which were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed for NDMA using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography–fluorescence detection, respectively. Overall, the charcoal grilling method showed higher average NDMA concentrations than the pan-broiling method for all types of meat. The highest average concentration was observed for charcoal-grilled beef sirloin (410 ng/m3) followed by pork belly, suggesting that meat protein content and cooking duration are important determinants of NDMA formation. Cancer risk assessment showed that the charcoal grilling of such meats can pose an additional cancer risk for restaurant customers.
Highlights
Charcoal grilling is a popular method used worldwide for the dry cooking of meats such as beef and pork, especially in Korea, due to its pleasant smell and the charcoal taste that it imparts to cooked meat
Have been found in fried bacon [18]. These findings suggest that NDMA and other NAs may be released into the air during the dry-heat cooking of meat such as charcoal grilling and contribute to their elevated concentration in the air, in particular indoors
This study aimed to investigate the release of volatile NAs into indoor air as a result of the charcoal grilling and pan-broiling of meat
Summary
Charcoal grilling is a popular method used worldwide for the dry cooking of meats such as beef and pork, especially in Korea, due to its pleasant smell and the charcoal taste that it imparts to cooked meat. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are compounds that are well known to form during the cooking of food. The generation of such compounds varies according to the cooking method used, with the highest concentration produced during grilling and smoking [1]. Pork belly, which contains the highest fat content among them, has been shown to produce the highest levels of PAHs [5]. This is probably because when the pork is cooked, fat falls onto charcoal flames and is pyrolyzed at a high temperature (usually >500 ◦ C), leading to the thermal synthesis of PAHs [7,8,9,10]. The consumption of such cooked meat may add to a carcinogenic health risk
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