Presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in food origin, toxicity and risks

Policiklički aromatski ugljikovodici (eng. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAH) su spojevi sveprisutni u hrani, prehrambenom lancu i okolišu. Većina proučavanih PAH-ova ima dokazane štetne učinke na ljude i životinje. Nastaju nepotpunim izgaranjem organskog materijala u prirodi ili pod utjecajem čovjeka. U hranu dospijevaju iz okoliša ili nastaju tijekom procesiranja. Prženje, pečenje i dimljenje hrane najčešći je put nastanka većih količina PAH-ova prisutnih u hrani. Njihovo toksično djelovanje, između ostalog može biti genotoksično, kancerogeno, teratogeno i fototoksično. Rizici od izloženosti PAH-ovima su prepoznati, zbog čega postoje i propisi dozvoljene količine PAH-ova u skupinama namirnica za ljudsku prehranu. Rizici se izražavaju faktorom ekvivalentne toksičnosti (TEF), a sežu od 0,001 do 1. Budući da su prisutni u okolišu i lako nastaju tijekom najčešće korištenih načina prerade hrane, policikličke aromatske ugljikovodike je nužno istraživati kako bi se bolje objasnilo njihovo toksično djelovanje, spriječilo nastajanje i trovanje te smanjili rizici.Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemical compounds uquibitous in food, food chain and environment. Most of studied PAHs are proven to have adverse effects on humans and animals. They are formed during the incomplete burning of organic material in the nature, but dominant sources of PAHs in the environment are from human activity. Food can be contaminated by PAHs from the environment or they are formed during food processing. Frying, roasting and smoking food are the most common way of the formation of large quantities of PAHs present in food. Their toxic effects can be genotoxic, carcinogenic, teratogenic and phototoxic. The risks of exposure to PAHs have been identified, which is why there are regulations permitting the amounts of PAHs in the groups of foods for human consumption. Risks are expressed with toxic equivalency factor (TEF) in a range from 0.001 to 1. Since PAHs are widely present in the environment and are readily formed during the most commonly used ways of food processing, it is necessary to explore and further explain their toxic action, in order to prevent the formation and poisoning, and reduce risks