Health Risk Assessment from Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Present in Dietary Components: A Meta-analysis on a Global Scale

A carcinogenic risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in dietary components was conducted using probabilistic approach from a global perspective. Published monitoring data of PAHs present in foods at different study points across the world were reviewed and collected as their corresponding BaPeq concentrations. These BaPeq concentrations were used to evaluate comprehensive cancer risk for two different age groups (children and adults). Monte Carlo simulation and sensitivity analysis were applied to quantify uncertainties of risk estimation. 95% risk values for food PAHs varies between 5.36E-07 to 1.97E-03 for children and 6.44E-07 to 4.56E-03 for adults. Overall carcinogenic risks of PAHs in food samples from all over the world were mostly in acceptance limits. However, diagnostic ratio analysis confirmed that PAHs contribution by some cooking process like grilling/smoking and industrial/vehicular pollution can respectively affect cooked foods and raw agricultural products. Sensitivity analysis reveals exposure duration (contribution: 45.3% for Children & 54.7% for adults) and food ingestion rate per unit of body mass (contribution: 40.2% for children and 28.5% for adults) as the most influential parameter of the assessment, followed by cancer slope factor for ingestion of BaP. Some specific locations like Prince Island, Tianjin Province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province demand potential strategies of carcinogenic risk management and reduction. The current study is the probable first attempt to provide summed up information on carcinogenic risk of PAHs in dietary components on a global scale.