Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content in commercial Spanish fatty foods

The levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection in different fatty foods from a Spanish market. The average concentration of the sum of total PAHs in edible vegetable oils was below 25 ng/g, whereas the sum of heavy PAHs did not surpass 5 ng/g. Olive pomace oils obtained before the summer of 2001 were an exception because they were highly contaminated. The effects of different technological processes, such as bleaching, deodorization, and hydrogenation, on PAH concentration in edible oils have been studied. The PAH profiles, as well as the influence of cooking procedures, of other fatty foods (margarine, mayonnaise, and oils from canned fishes) have been examined.