Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in vegetable oils from canned foods

A rapid method previously set up for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) determination in vegetable oils was used to carry out a survey on 62 samples of vegetable oils from canned vegetables and fish and oil-based sauces. Of the oil samples from vegetable products, 15% exceeded the 2-ppb level for benzo(a)pyrene. The highest PAH concentration was found in the oil from a grilled mushroom sample, which presented 11.3 ppb of BaP and 47.1 ppb of total heavy PAH. Regarding the canned fish, none of the analyzed samples exceeded the limit for BaP. The highest contamination level was found in an olive oil sample from canned tuna: 1.9 ppb of BaP and 11.3 ppb of total heavy PAH. The high PAH concentrations found in some oil samples from vegetable products could be due to the contribution from contaminants in the vegetables.