Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

peer reviewedThis chapter presents an overview of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) dedicated to researchers who want to approach this topic. PAHs are ubiquitous carcinogenic compounds that can frequently contaminate foods. Several aspects have to be considered to fully understand such a topic. The discussion starts from their chemical properties, useful to predict their fate and distribution in the environmental compartments, deals with legal and toxicological aspects, and briefly reports a taste on analytic methods to determine their presence in different samples. Particular attention was given to the discussion of toxicological evaluations and surveys on PAH occurrence in foods, which have led the European legislation evolution over the last decades. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved