Impact of Heavy metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons with respect to cancer development; a case study

The incidence of substantial amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals in barbecued chicken is matter of public health significance. The current study was designed to assess the presence of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in barbecue chicken samples as they are considered as potential human carcinogens. The samples were collected from four regions of Faisalabad; Ghulam Mohammad Abad (R1), Jhang road (R2), Sargodha road (R3) and Satiana road (R4). Purposely, all the collected samples were subjected atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) for detection of heavy metal (Pb, Zn, Cd and Fe) and gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The concentration of highly toxic metals Pb and Cd was found to be much higher than recommended value. However, the level of metals (Fe and Zn) in barbecue chicken samples was also much higher than their safe limits for Fe (15ppm) and Zn (5ppm). Moreover, benzopyrene and other PAHs were also detected in barbecue chicken. It was evident from the current research that processing of meat by exposure to coal smoke trigger the production of toxic compounds in food thus posing serious risk for consumer.

Keywords: Carcinogens, PAH, Heavy Metals, Barbecue chicken, Benzopyrene