Untersuchungen zum Gehalt krebserzeugender Kohlenwasserstoffe in Räucherwaren der DDR und der Ungarischen VR

Abstract

In the GDR, industrially smoked foods contain on an average 0.43 microgram Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP)/kg; products smoked according to trade rules, 0.76 microgram/kg; home-smoked products, 0.74 microgram/kg. The mean BaP content of smoked meat and sausage products in the GDR is 0.55 microgram/kg. Smoked fishes (without skin) contained on an average 1.39 microgram BaP/kg. The following average values were found in the Hungarian People's Republic: 0.6 microgram/kg (industrially smoked), 0.74 microgram/kg (home-smoked), 0.7 microgram/kg (total mean). Smoked cheese contained on an average 0.85 microgram/kg. The average BaP value of home-smoked (softwood) products of a Slovene ethnic group in the Hungarian People's Republic is 4.16 microgram/kg; the population of this region shows a considerably increased rate of stomach cancer. Apart from this particular case, the techniques used in both countries permit to obtain smoked meat and sausage products and smoked cheese with BaP contents less than 1 microgram/kg.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in grilled food

“…When charcoal was replaced by spruce or pine cones, the PAH contamination was markedly increased, the mean concentrations of BaP and £PAH being 17.6 and 377 Mg/kg. The results from these multicomponent analyses are in agreement with previously reported data on BaP and other PAHs in grilled Bratwurst (Fritz, 1973;Toth and Blaas, 1973;Binnemann, 1979).…”

“…All samples were analyzed in duplicate. The method of workup and extraction was based on the work of Grimmer and Bohnke (1975). After addition of an internal standard (ß,ß-binaphthyl), the sample (40 g) was saponified, extracted, and cleaned up as described previously for smoked fish (Larsson, 1982a).…”

“…They explained their findings by the theory that melted fat from the heated meat drips onto the hot coals and is pyrolyzed, giving rise to the formation of PAH, which are then deposited on the meat surface as the smoke rises. Several reports (Fritz, 1973;Toth and Blaas, 1973; Doremire et al, 1979) confirm that charcoal-grilled lean meat products contain lower levels of PAH (less than 1 pg of BaP/kg) than products with a high fat content. Lijinsky and Ross (1967) and Toth and Blaas (1973) reported that charcoal grilling of meat in a vertical grill, where the dripping of fat onto the heat source is prevented, or broiling with electricity and gas, where the heat source is above the food, resulted in only minimum contamination by PAH.…”

“…It is well-known that grilling food can lead to the production and uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), some of which are potent carcinogens. The presence of PAH in smoked food is also well documented [Toth and Blaas (1972a,b), Fritz and Sods (1977), Potthast (1978), Larsson (1982a), and many others], PAH, particularly benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), have been suggested as one, among other, etiological factor in large bowel cancer (Hecht and La Voie, 1981) and stomach cancer (Soos, 1980). Many of the studies on PAH in grilled and smoked food have concentrated on the determination of BaP only.…”

“…Extremely high levels of PAH (maximum 140 pg of BaP/kg) were found by Fritz (1973) in meat and bratwurst grilled over burning pine cones. The fat content did not seem to influence the PAH level in this case.…”