title: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Italian preserved food products in oil.
abstract: A method based on gas chromatography/ tandem mass spectrometry was used to assess levels of 16 EU priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 48 preserved food products in oil including foods such as vegetables in oil, fish in oil and oil-based sauces obtained from the Italian market. The benzo[a]pyrene concentrations ranged from <0.04 to 0.40 µg kg(-1), and 72.9% of the samples showed detectable levels of this compound. The highest contamination level was observed for chrysene with three additional PAHs (benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene and benzo[c]fluorene) giving mean values higher than the mean value for benzo[a]pyrene. Chrysene was detected in all the samples at concentrations ranging from 0.07 to 1.80 µg kg(-1) (median 0.31 µg kg(-1)). The contamination expressed as PAH4 (sum of benzo(a)pyrene, chrysene, benzo(a)anthracene and benzo(b)fluoranthene), for which the maximum tolerable limit has been set by Commission Regulation (EU) No. 835/2011, varied between 0.10 and 2.94 µg kg(-1).
authors.affiliation: a Chemical Safety Department , Stazione Sperimentale per l'Industria delle Conserve Alimentari , Parma , Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sannino
mesh_terms: D000873:Anthracenes / Q000032:analysis; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000032:analysis; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D002911:Chrysenes / Q000032:analysis; D004032:Diet; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D005449:Fluorenes / Q000032:analysis; D005502:Food; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D057141:Food, Preserved / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D000873:Anthracenes; D002911:Chrysenes; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D005449:Fluorenes; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; C031180:chrysene; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene; C006703:benzo(b)fluoranthene
keywords: GC-MS/MS; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; occurrence; oil; preserved food