Quantitatively assessing the health risk of exposure to PAHs from intake of smoked meats

Smoked meat and meat products represent a significant part of the daily diet in south-west China and many other parts of the world. In this study, we evaluated the health risks of long-term exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a daily low dose exposures (from intake of PAH-containing smoked meats) in south-west China for eight groups of people based on a Monte Carlo simulation. Total concentrations of PAHs in smoked meats from south-west China ranged from 14.4 to 56.3 μg kg−1. The 95th percentile carcinogenic risk (CR) values of eight groups in four cities and provinces were lower than the acceptable value (1.00E-5), indicating no significant risk. The 95th percentile Hazard Index (HI) values were below 1, suggesting no obvious non-carcinogenic effects developed. This study was the first attempt to provide information on the potential health risk for daily intake of PAH-containing smoked meat.