Genotoxicity of processed food items and ready-to-eat snacks in Finland

• The genotoxicity of selected commercial food products in Finland was evaluated.
• Some food products showed potential as sources of both direct and indirect mutagens.
• The mutagenic impact was not due to histidine release.
• No DNA damage was detected in HepG2 cells by food extracts with mutagenic potential.
• Genotoxicity was not confined to a particular food type or method of processing.

Processed foods are an insufficiently characterized source of chemical mutagens for consumers. Here, we evaluated the genotoxicity of selected food products in Finland. Mutagenicity was determined by the standard plate incorporation assay followed by methylcellulose overlay and treat-and-wash assays, using the Salmonella strains TA 100 and 98 with and without metabolic activation. Generally, the mutagenic activity of food samples was low, but exhibited lot-wise variation. Cold cuts of cold-smoked beef, grilled turkey, and smoked chicken (a single batch of each) were mutagenic in all three assays with the TA 100 strain with and without metabolic activation, indicating the mutagenic effect was not secondary to histidine release from the food products. However, none of the food extracts showing mutagenic potential induced DNA damage in vitro using the Comet Assay. Our findings imply that in Finland today, there are still products the production methods of which should be refined to reduce the potential risk of mutagenicity to consumers.