Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH4) in the Traditional Lebanese Grilled Meat Products and Investigation of Broasted Frying Cooking Method and Meat Size on the PAH4 Formation

This study investigates, for the first time, the PAH4 levels (benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and benzo[a]pyrene) in the most traditional Lebanese meat products. The study explores the effect of the surface/mass ratio and the influence of the cooking methods; broasted frying, vertical gas grilling and charcoal gas grilling, on the PAH4 formation. A total of 176 samples from seven charcoal-grilled meat dishes, 12 broasted chicken, and 12 gas grilled chicken dishes collected from different restaurants, together with 62 house charcoal-grilled samples, were prepared and analyzed. The results show that 62 charcoal-grilled restaurant samples (35.2%) and 24 charcoal-grilled house samples (38.7%) exceeded the Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for PAH4 of smoked meat (12.0 mu g kg(-1)) established by the European Commission. In restaurant samples, the PAH4 levels in all samples ranged between 1.39 and 36.94 mu g kg(-1), whereas in house grilling samples, the PAH4 levels in all samples ranged between 1.23 and 52.79 mu g kg(-1). Additionally, the results of this study illustrate that the charcoal-grilled chicken samples showed an enormous augmentation 3- to 40-fold than gas-grilled and broasted fried chicken. Besides, a high correlation was displayed between the PAH levels and the: fat content and surface/mass ratio.

Automated summary

This study investigated the levels of PAH4 in traditional Lebanese meat products for the first time, finding that a significant proportion of charcoal-grilled meat samples exceeded the EU-established Maximum Residue Limits for PAH4 in smoked meat. The results also indicated that charcoal-grilled chicken had significantly higher PAH levels compared to gas-grilled and broasted fried chicken.