Assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content of smoked fish by means of a fast HPLC/HPLC method

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in smoked food can reach levels hazardous for the human health, especially when the smoking procedure is carried out under uncontrolled conditions. In this work a simple and rapid method for the determination of PAHs in smoked fish samples is described. PAHs were extracted from the insoluble samples (together with fat substances) by homogenization with acidified chloroform. The fat extract was then submitted to a first LC sample preparation step (performed on a large silica column) to isolate PAHs from triglycerides. After reconcentration, the PAH fraction was finally injected into the reverse-phase analytical column. The proposed method, which presents good characteristics of recoveries and repeatability, was also used to analyze PAH content of some smoked trout samples packed under vacuum.