Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in barbecued Coalho cheese: Are there differences regards the distance of the heat source?

The objective of this study was to quantify PAHs in samples of commercial Coalho Cheese (CC, n=32) barbecued in charcoal at different distances (5, 15 or 20 cm). PAHs were determined using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). All the 16 PAHs (Acenaphthene (ACP), Acenaphthylene (ACY), Anthracene (ANT), Benzo[a]anthracene (BaA), Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), Benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF), Benzo[g,h,i]perylene (BPer), Benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkF), Chrysene (CHRY), Dibenz[a,h]anthracene (DBA), Phenanthrene (PHE), Fluorene (FN), Fluoranthene (FLU), Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (InP), Naphthalene (NAPH), and Pyrene (PYR)) monitored by the health agencies (8 considered most toxic, BaP, BaA, CHRY, BbF, BkF, BPer, DBA and InP) were found in CC samples. The concentration levels of BaA and DBA were elevated and ranged from 140.73-149.46 μg kg-1 and 135.00-139.53 μg kg-1, respectively. The distance to heat source did not have an important contribution to the levels of PAHs in the CC samples, excepted for NAPH and ACY. For NAPH, a lower level was observed in CC at 15 cm distance (63.9 μg kg-1), while for ACY the highest concentration (833.6 μg kg-1) was observed in CC submitted to the highest distance (20 cm). For risk assessment as a function of cooked and roasted CC preparation was calculated the Chronic Daily Intake (CDI), the Margin of Exposure (MOE) and the incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR).The CC samples presented CDI values of 3.11 x 10-2 - 3.15 x 10-2 mg kg-1 day-1, MOE values of 1083-1097 and ILCR values of 2.27-2.30 x 10-1. In conclusion, CC presented high concentrations of PAHs and potential risk for the health of the Brazilian consumers. The risk of causing cancer, by the estimation of consumption of CC over the adult life, were found in greater than 83% for BaP and greater than 69% for DBA, the compounds with higher carcinogenicity index.