Abstract
The occurrence and levels of benzo[a]pyrene in various heat-treated foods from China were evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection. In a total of 119 samples, 105 were found to contain benzo[a]pyrene at levels of 0.03 to 19.75 µg/kg. The benzo[a]pyrene contents in 12 animal source foods were higher than the Chinese maximum permissible level in food (5 µg/kg) and the highest level was 19.75 µg/kg, nearly four times the maximum permissible level. The results revealed a widespread carinogenic public health risk from benzo[a]pyrene in heat-treated foods. The highest benzo[a]pyrene levels were found in animal source samples such as charcoal-grilled and smoked meats, especially pork, beef and sausage, while trace levels of benzo[a]pyrene were present in grain food. Charcoal-grilled vegetables were found to also contain certain levels of benzo[a]pyrene. This study provided new information on benzo[a]pyrene content of a variety of heat-treated foods from China.
Highlights
Research on food safety is attracting growing interests in the field of public health all over theWorld
The main mechanism of these negative health effects was found to involve their effects on enzymes, especially on the cytochrome P450 (CYP) family of enzymes, including CYP1A [18,19,20,21]
When the levels of B[a]P in some charcoal-grilled and smoked food samples from Guangzhou were evaluated in our laboratory, considerably high concentrations of B[a]P (>10 μg/kg) were found in some foods, which exceed the admissible level in food of China (5 μg/kg), and may be hazardous for public health
Summary
Terzi et al [39] and Aygun et al [40] reported that charcoal-grilled meat contained high concentrations of B[a]P, with average levels ranging from 5.7 ± 3.48 to 24.2 ± 0.84 μg/kg. This indicated that the public was exposed to B[a]P levels above the guideline value and it is quite. When the levels of B[a]P in some charcoal-grilled and smoked food samples from Guangzhou were evaluated in our laboratory, considerably high concentrations of B[a]P (>10 μg/kg) were found in some foods, which exceed the admissible level in food of China (5 μg/kg), and may be hazardous for public health. This study has been carried out to evaluate the level of B[a]P in 119 selected foods to supply new information on B[a]P levels in a variety of foods from China
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