Comparison of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) between smoked marc spirits and whiskies.

The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in three brands of smoked marc spirits, the only actually on the market, was studied and compared with literature PAHs concentrations reported for whiskies. In two brands of smoked marc spirit the higher-molecular-weight PAHs concentrations (5 and 6 rings PAHs) resulted higher (0.09-0.3 microg L (-1)) than in whiskies (0.00-0.02 microg L(-1)) and consequently higher resulted the carcinogenic potential expressed using the toxicity equivalent factor (TEF).