ABSTRACT
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) comprise the largest class of chemical compounds to be known as cancer-causing agents. Some, while not carcinogenic, may act as synergists. PAHs are being found permanently in water, air, soil, and, therefore, also in foods. PAHs originate from diverse sources such as tobacco smoke, engine exhausts, petroleum distillates, and coal-derived products, with combustion sources predominating (Bartle 1991). So, food contamination by PAHs from the environmental sources is realistic in every stage of raw material, or food “live” with regard to the permanent formation and presence of these compounds in the environment. Moreover, PAHs may also form directly in food as a result of some thermal processes such as charcoal grilling (Mottier et al. 2000; Fretheim 1983; Pánek et al. 1995), roasting (Kruijf et al. 1987), smoke drying (Afolabi et al. 1983), and smoking (Šimko 2002, 2005). An important way of food contamination is also the application of contaminated additives (Stijve and Hischenhuber 1987), or migration from the contaminated package (Grob et al. 1991; Šimko et al. 1995), respectively. Owing to the adverse effects to living organisms, attention has been paid to their formation and occurrence in various food products (Tamakawa et al. 1996; Plaza-Bolaños et al. 2010; Šimko 2011a,b).
