Abstract:
Roasted meat is known to be a major source of human exposure to PAHs. The contribution
of direct-heat charcoal-roasted, electric- oven grilled, and shallow-pan fried meat
to human exposure in Kisumu City was not known although the three modes of cooking
meat are very prevalent. This study analyzed the concentrations of the PAHs in
raw beef, goat meat, and pork, investigated the effect of direct-heat charcoal roasting,
electric-oven grilling, and shallow-pan frying on these concentrations, and compared
their concentration levels with international standards for foods in order to assess the
potential risks to consumers. Samples were taken from three popular meat-roasting
hotels within Kisumu City, Kenya. Extraction of PAHs was done using liquid-liquid
partition after saponification with alcoholic potassium hydroxide followed by clean-up
on a silica gel column and final analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
(GC-MS). Roasting and shallow-pan frying introduced new PAHs and significantly
(P ≤ 0.05) increased the concentrations of those existing in raw meat. Direct-heat charcoal
roast beef had 5 new PAHs and a total mean PAH content of 17.88 μg/kg, compared
with a mean of 1.39 μg/kg for raw beef, with the potent dibenz(a,h)anthracene also being
detected. Direct-heat charcoal roasted goat meat had three new PAHs and a total
mean PAH content of 4.77 μg/kg, compared with a mean of 2.13 μg/kg in raw meat, with
the potent benzo(a)pyrene concentration being 8.84% of the total mean PAH. Fried pork
had 7 new PAHs and a total mean PAH content of 3.47 μg/kg, compared with a mean
total of 0.17 μg/kg, detected in the raw meat. Roast beef had the highest individual PAH
concentration (5.03 μg/kg) and highest total PAHs concentration (17.88 μg/kg), both being
higher than acceptable EU limits. The PAHs from local raw and cooked meat were
characterized and quantified for the first time in Kisumu City and the study therefore
provided the needed baseline data on PAHs in raw and cooked meat
