Concentrations and distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in vegetables and animal-based foods before and after grilling: Implication for human exposure

Abstract The effects of grilling on health risks posed by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in food remain poorly understood. The changes of concentrations, distributions, and risks of PAHs in vegetables and animal-based foods before and after grilling were investigated in this study. The sum of 16 (∑ 16 ) PAH concentrations in grilled vegetables and grilled animal-based foods were 60.4–1936 and 69.1–4668 ng/g, respectively. Grilling markedly increased the ∑ 16 PAH concentrations in most foods analyzed. Grilling clearly increased the low-molecular-weight PAH contributions to the ∑ 16 PAH concentrations in vegetables but increased the heavier PAH contributions to the ∑ 16 PAH concentrations in some animal-based foods. With the grilling, the total benzo[ a ]pyrene-equivalent concentrations of the 16 PAHs in Chinese chives and enoki mushrooms and most animal-based foods were improved significantly. Source assessments indicated that environmental sources contributed PAHs to the raw foods and high-temperature pyrolysis during grilling contributed large proportions of the PAHs in the grilled foods. The carcinogenic risks to humans from the exposure of PAHs in vegetables and animal-based foods were estimated. Grilling increased the total risks of PAHs in vegetables and animal-based foods by factors of 3.12 and 5.49, respectively. Total risks of PAHs in the 11 foods were 3.43 times higher when the foods were grilled than when raw. The results suggested that the negative effects of grilling on human health should be of great concern.