Carcinogens in Cooked Foods: How Do They Get There and Do They Have an Impact on Human Health?

Abstract

Summary Fifty years ago, skin painting experiments on mice showed that extracts from heated animal muscle caused cancer. Today we know of more than 20 heterocyclic amines (HAs) formed through the Maillard reaction during the cooking of beef, pork, lamb, chicken and fish muscle. These compounds cause mutations in bacteria, mammalian cells and animals, and cancer in animals. Analytical methods today are sufficient to measure these compounds at concentrations of 0.1 ppb and practical enough for examining numerous foods cooked by different methods, and to varying degrees to doneness. There are widespread exposures to low amounts of HAs in the western diet. In general, frying and grilling food well-done result in the highest yield of HAs. Fast-food hamburgers are very low in total heterocyclic amine content, usually below 1 ppb. In contrast, restaurant prepared meats have about ten-fold higher amounts of HAs. For chicken cooked well-done over an open flame, up to 500 ppb of 2-amino-1-methy-6-phenylimidazo[4,5- b ]pyridine (PhIP) has been found. Human risk is based on exposure and potency. Current results suggest that reducing exposure to HAs is feasible and should lower the human risk to those consuming such foods.