EFFECT OF PROCESSING ON POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON LEVELS IN COCOA ALMONDS

Cocoa is globally recognized as an agricultural commodity, being a food consumed in the world. To obtain chocolate and cocoa products, the almonds are subjected to several operations. In this process, drying and roasting stand out, since the heat treatment triggers numerous reactions, some associated with the development of aroma and flavor, but also contaminants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The incidence of PAHs in cocoa has also been related to environmental contamination, due to the presence of smoke from wood burning or other sources. The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of 13 PAHs in cocoa samples taken after the different stages of processing (drying, roasting, obtaining the cerebrospinal fluid, cocoa butter and chocolate) in order to evaluate the effect of processing on the levels of these compounds. The sample preparation stage was performed by the combination of QuEChERS-DLLME techniques that achieved attractive characteristics for routine analyses, including small sample quantity, low reagent consumption and easy operation. The PAHs were analyzed by gas chromatography with a mass spectrometry detector (GC-MS). The method was validated intralaboratory. Analytical sensitivity was achieved for all compounds with LODs ranging from 0.05 to 0.10 μg ^kg-1, and LOQs ranging from 0.25 to 0.43 μg kg^–1. High coefficients of determination (R² ≥ 0.99) were obtained for all analytes. Mean recoveries ranged from 88.1% (benzo[a]anthracene) to 117.1% (anthracene)