TDK conference 2018

Human epidemiologic and animal studies have shown that diet plays an important role in cancer development. Third of human cancers are related to foods. Heterocyclic aromatic amines are potential mutagens produced from the natural ingredients of the meat at temperatures over 150° C. HCAs can be divided into two groups, based on their origin and structure: aminoimidazoarenes that are formed by the Maillard reaction from the reaction of creatine, reducing sugars and free amino acids, and aminocarbalines (pyrolytic amines) which are formed by protein plyrosis above 300 ° C. The amount of resulting HCAs depends to a large extent on the type of meat and the conditions of preparation, such as the baking temperature, the baking method and time. Concentration and variety of HCAs can be dependent on many factors such as meat type, cooking method, temperature and cooking duration.

In my research my aim was to detect the HCA consumption of the Hungarian population. We examined how the respondents make the poultry dishes in their home by using an online questionnaire. The questionnaire focuses mainly on the preparation of poultry meat (especially grilling), in addition to the general meat consumption and buying habits. We have investigated the preparation time and temperature and other factors that could influence the amount of HCAs (eg pickling, spices).

There were 300 responses to the questionnaire. The results show that meat consumption is increasingly shifting towards poultry. Although the popularity of specialized small trade is growing, poultry meat is still bought in hypermarkets mainly. A popular way of preparation is grilling, but most of the respondents use simple and uniform marinades. The low-temperature food preparation procedures are not well-known and popular. Based on these, it is possible to ascertain that a very common method of preparing a popular type of meat can significantly contribute to the development of malignant digestive tract tumors. By reducing the temperature or time of preparation or by using certain pickles, this risk could be reduced.