Study Finds Sausages Smoking Process Needs Parameters That Avoid Contamination
A study carried out by the Instituto Adolfo Lutz, in partnership with the Faculdade de Saúde Pública (FSP) at USP, analyzed 14 commercial brands of salami sold in the city of São Paulo between 2019 and 2021 to track the presence of contaminants from the group called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The study is part of a larger project in partnership with USP, with assistance from the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), to evaluate various sausages sold in the city. The results point to the need for specific legislation that determines the parameters for the production of these products.
“We evaluated the so-called PAH contaminants”, explains Simone Alves da Silva, a researcher at the Nucleus of Organic Contaminants at the Adolfo Lutz Institute and doctoral student at the USP School of Public Health . Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental pollutants formed from the incomplete combustion of organic matter. The smoking process, therefore, may be largely responsible for the contamination of these sausages.
Geni Rodrigues Sampaio- Photo: CDi/Fapesp
Geni Rodrigues Sampaio, biologist and technician responsible for the Food Components and Health and Nutritional Genomics and Inflammation laboratories at the FSP, explains that, for oils and fish products, there is control, but for meat products, the country still does not have this type of legislation, which is already a demand from the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa). She even gives a warning: “We have four hydrocarbons that are mainly responsible for having carcinogenic action. One is proven to have the potential, which is benzopyrene.”
Therefore, control is important, because it is already a factor that adds to a possible health aggravation. She also gives the example of national products that are exported to Europe that, when subjected to analysis, can be barred due to levels of contaminants above the permitted level.
Consequences
PAHs are soil, air and water contaminants. This means that food can be contaminated by the environment. Furthermore, they may be present in the smoke during the smoking process. “In the case of traditional smoking, in particular, when the food is in direct contact with this smoke, it can contaminate the surface of this product”, explains Simone.
The products, in addition to being smoked, were analyzed in parts. The gut – the casing of sausage meat products – was the most contaminated, while the final product was less contaminated. Of the 22 samples, six were above the allowed limit. Because they are analyzed in parts per million (ppm), “we already know that this quantity has a potential aggregator to be carcinogenic”, warns Geni. PAHs harm human health for several reasons, among the most common are cancer, genetic mutations and immunosuppressive effects.
The study raises an alert for the investigation and evaluation of these levels of contamination for the basis and formulation of parameters for Brazilian legislation. This alert also extends to artisanal producers, who may not follow the smoking process in the right way and end up contaminating the products.
Above all, “we must be careful with consumers and always think about the parameter of nutrition. We can eat everything in moderate amounts, have a balanced diet”, explains Geni. “What really needs is greater control in relation to this issue of inspection and control related to these products”, says Simone. One of the possibilities raised, including, is the use of smoke aroma, which reduces contamination.