Sessions

The growing popularity of more sustainable protein sources contributes significantly to the rapid expansion of structured meat alternatives on the food market. Despite this growth, data on the occurrence and formation of process contaminants in structured meat alternatives remain limited. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large class of organic compounds formed during food processing and cooking practices, several of which are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as carcinogenic to humans. The aim of this research was to assess the dynamics of 6 PAHs in structured meat alternatives and to investigate the effect of different cooking conditions on PAH concentrations. The objective was to address the current research gap regarding the chemical safety issues of structured meat alternatives, with emphasis on consumer relevant cooking conditions. The products were selected based on their accessibility and availability in the Hungarian market and were analysed as raw, air-fried and pan-fried samples, both measured in two degrees of surface browning. The concentrations of the four PAHs regulated by the European Union (EU PAH4), as well as dibenz[a,h]anthracene (DahA) and fluoranthene (FLU) were measured using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection (HPLC-FL) following sample preparation by solid phase extraction.

Increasing cooking intensity did not result in a uniform increase in the EU PAH4 concentrations but rather suggested a strong product-dependent response to heat treatment, yet all of the tested products remained well below the maximum levels established for heat-treated meat and meat products with many cases not even exceeding the corresponding detection, or quantitation level. Dark-browned air-frying resulted in the highest PAH4 concentrations in most products and there were several notable correlations observed between PAH concentrations and nutritional composition with positive correlations to main protein source, saturated fat content and energy content as well as an inverse correlation with fibre content of the structured meat alternative. These findings emphasise the significance of that the number of PAHs formed greatly depend on the structured meat alternative composites as well as the chosen heating environment and supports the need for further research on these products.