A generalized chemical kinetics explains heterocyclic amine formation in high-temperature processed meats

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are carcinogenic compounds formed during high-temperature meat cooking. This study introduces a novel generalized kinetic model incorporating multiple precursors and HCA degradation to comprehensively describe formation and elimination. Its simplified solutions closely matched experimental data across various cooking scenarios, validating its robustness. While PhIP, IQ, IQx, and MeIQx formation increased with temperature and remained stable up to 210 °C in glycerol-based solutions. Notably, PhIP degradation occurred at lower temperatures in beef juice, mackerel, and pork, highlighting limitations of existing models that offer limited insights into related experimental data. The proposed model enables determining formation and degradation rate constants, providing valuable insights into factors affecting HCA levels. Applying this informative model to investigate factors profoundly affecting HCA formation will help elucidate impacts on precursor concentrations or reaction rate constants, ultimately guiding the optimization of cooking parameters to reduce HCA levels, thereby improving the safety of high-temperature-processed meats.