Effects of smoking or baking procedures during sausage processing on the formation of heterocyclic amines measured using UPLC-MS/MS

We used an UPLC-MS/MS method to investigate the effects of smoking or baking on the formation of heterocyclic amines (HAs) in sausage processing. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to differentiate the chemical composition, pH and colour of the processed sausages. We detected and quantified eight types of HAs (PhIP, DMIP, Phe-P-1, IQ[4,5-b], 7,8-DiMeIQx, AαC, harman and norharman) in sausages, finding total HA concentrations as high as 422 ± 17.5 ng/g. Higher smoking temperatures led to higher concentrations of total HA in smoked sausages (330 ± 8.19 to 422 ± 17.5 ng/g). On the contrary, higher baking temperatures created lower total HA concentrations in baked sausages (ranging from 139 ± 9.83 to 306 ± 0.92 ng/g). Our results demonstrated that HAs are produced even at low temperatures, which means that HAs should be controlled during sausage processing to minimise their formation.