PAHs in the UK Diet: 2000 Total Diet Study Samples (Number 31/02)

• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analysed in samples of the food groups that made up the 2000 Total Diet Study (TDS). PAHs are produced during combustion processes such as the burning of fossil fuels and refuse. They do not degrade easily and are widespread in the environment, including at low levels in food. PAHs may also be produced by smoking foods and food ingredients. Some PAHs, in particular benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), have a potential to cause cancer by interacting with the genetic material in the cell. Exposure to such chemicals should be as low as reasonably possible.
• The estimated intakes by adults and children of BaP and benz(a)anthracene (BaA) are 2 to 5-fold lower in 2000 compared with 1979 for average and high level consumers. Estimated average and high level adult dietary intakes of BaP have fallen to 1.6 and 2.7 nanogram/kilogram (ng/kg) bodyweight/day respectively in 2000. Dietary intakes of BaA for average and high level adult consumers have fallen to 0.8 and 1.4 ng/kg bodyweight/day in 2000. The levels of dibenz(ah)anthracene (DBahA) in total diet study (TDS) samples were all below the limits of detection in 2000.
• The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) reviewed average intakes for the PAHs of greatest toxicological concern (BaP, BaA and DBahA) and reached the following conclusions. The survey results show that, although the estimated intakes do not fully allow for changing dietary habits (as the same food consumption dataset was used to estimate dietary intakes for both 1979 and 2000), for BaP and BaA the data indicate that dietary intakes of PAHs have decreased over the past twenty years. Intakes of DBahA are also likely to have decreased however it is not possible to say by how much as any levels present in TDS samples taken in 2000 were all below the limit of detection. Expert advice from the COT is that as intakes of these PAHs have decreased so it is likely that any associated risk of cancer will also have decreased.