Onions, Salt and Palm Oil Marination Reduced Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon in Cooked Chevon and Beef Meat: A Risk Assessment Study

Abstract

The roles of foods in human health can be greatly influenced by processing. The process of singeing deposits polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on meat. However, some food additives have shown tendencies to reduce PAHs levels in singed food. This study conducted a risk assessment study on the effect of onions, salt and palm oil marination on Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in cooked chevon and beef meat. The singed meat samples were cooked with specific quantities of additives (onions, salt and palm oil). PAHs levels were analyzed using Gas Chromatography Mass spectrophotometer (GC-MS) and the health risk assessment was conducted as described by USEPA. Our findings revealed that meat samples singed with augmented fire wood accumulated more PAHs than those singed with only firewood; also chevon accumulated more PAHs than beef. PAHs content in all singed meat samples cooked with maximum quantity of additives (15 g) for 30 min had reduction in concentration of about 99%. The estimated daily intake (EDI) showed that PAHs concentration were higher in uncooked meat samples singed with augmented firewood. The least concentration of PAH was seen in cooked chevon singed with only firewood (9.39E-06 mg/kg/day). The hazard quotients (HQs) evaluated showed that cooking the meat samples with additives, notably decreased PAHs concentration (from between 10⁻¹ and 10⁻³ to between 10⁻⁵ and 10⁻⁷). The hazard index (HI) observed showed that PAHs concentration in cooked samples were lower than in uncooked samples. The Carcinogenic potency showed that the uncooked singed meat samples could lead to health complications except for the chevon sample singed with only firewood. However, all cooked samples showed lower health hazards with potency index which were all less than one (<1). The findings suggest that chevon accumulated PAHs more than beef. However, the carcinogenic potency of the PAHs in chevon was less than beef after cooking with additives.