Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons incidence in Portuguese traditional smoked meat products

Meat and meat products safety is, nowadays, a priority quality requirement with chemical hazards having a great impact. Amongst the residues and contaminants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be of particular concern, namely in those products having direct smoking during processing. In order to investigate the contamination levels in traditional dry fermented sausages manufactured in Alentejo (South of Portugal), 66 samples were collected from regional producers. PAH8 represented less than 0.5% of the total contamination profile, with benzo[a]anthracene and chrysene being the most concentrated compounds (maximum contents of 7.53 and 8.9 μg kg⁻¹), irrespective of the product type analysed. Benzo[a]pyrene content varied between 0.21 and 1.00 μg kg⁻¹, with only one sample showing this maximum content. Blood sausages were potentially more risky, since total PAH8 contents were generally higher and because its presence in inner parts were significantly superior than that found in casings, comparatively to meat counterparts, which expressed superior benzo[a]pyrene toxic equivalents.