Heterocyclic aromatic amines as a safety criteriа for meat and fish products

Abstract

Against the background of adverse environmental conditions in Ukraine, experts in the field of medicine, food hygiene note the raising importance of various nutritional factors in increasing the risk of developing cancer. A number of compounds resulting from protein denaturation during the heat treatment of meat and fish products can pose a high risk. Such compounds include heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAA) i.e. substances that, in extremely low concentrations, can carry out mutagenic and carcinogenic effects on the human body. Aim of the Research. To analyse studies from available sources of information about the likelihood and conditions of the formation of chemicals hazardous to human health in foods of animal origin during thermal cooking. Methods and Materials. Review and analysis of scientific publications based on the results of experimental studies of European, American and Japanese scientists. Results and Discussion. Studies have established that in the process of thermal cooking of food products of animal meat, poultry, fish, HAA are formed and accumulate as a result of complex multi-stage chemical reactions with the obligatory participation of amino acids, sugars, creatine and creatinine, which is its cyclic form. The formation of mutagenic HAA is affected by a number of conditions. For example, the accumulation of heterocyclic aromatic amines in fried meat products is most affected by the temperature of the surface of the pan and the outer layer of meat, the duration of frying, the degree of meat chopping, the presence of breading, pickling, the addition of onions to the chopped meat. Conclusions. Taking into account that the diet of more than 40% of the population includes products containing HAA, the development and justification of safety criteria for meat and fish products concerning the content of heterocyclic aromatic amines as well as the development of ways to prevent their formation form an urgent problem. The following tasks must be solved as priorities: – to develop and standardize methods for the determination of HAA in various types of food products; – to conduct studies of the content of HAA in meat and fish products and in culinary products; – to study the influence of various methods of thermal cooking on the accumulation of HAA in finished products made from meat and fish; – to study the effect of the raw materials used and production technologies on the accumulation of HAA in food products; – to optimize the formulae of meat and fish products and their production technologies in order to minimize the number of HAA formed in the finished product; – to justify the acceptable levels of HAA in food products and to develop safety criteria for meat and fish products concerning the content of HAA on the basis of clinical and laboratory studies. Key Words: heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAA), meat products, fish products, thermal cooking, safety.