Influence of processing in the prevalence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a Portuguese traditional meat product

The concentration of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was determined in traditional dry/fermented sausage along distinct stages of processing under two different technological procedures (traditional and modified processes). The influence of product's position in the smoking room, on the variation of contaminants and in their migration dynamics from the outer into the inner part, was also followed up. Raw material mixtures presented expressive total PAH values, 106.17 μg kg−1 in wet samples and 244.34 μg kg−1 in dry mater (DM), expressing the frequent fire woods occurred in the regions pigs were extensively reared. Traditional processing produced a higher (p < 0.01) total PAH levels comparatively to modified/industrial procedures, with mean values reaching 3237.10 and 1702.85 μg kg−1 DM, respectively. Both, raw materials and final products, showed PAH profiles with light compounds representing about 99.0% of the total PAHs, mostly accounted by those having two rings (naphthalene-27.5%) or three rings (acenaphtene-16.9%; fluorene-27.1%; phenanthrene-19.5% and anthracene-3.9%). The benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) accumulated in traditional and modified processed products never surpassed the limit of 5 μg kg−1 established by the EU legislation. PAHs in products hanged in bars closer to heating/smoking source speed up their transfer from the surface/outer portion to the inner part of the product.