QuEChERS Method Validated for 8 PAHs in Food
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- Seoul National University of Science & Technology researchers, led by Prof. Joon-Goo Lee, developed a QuEChERS-based GC-MS method to detect eight priority PAHs in food, published in Food Science and Biotechnology (2025).
- The validated method achieved R² values above 0.99, detection limits of 0.006–0.035 µg/kg, quantification limits of 0.019–0.133 µg/kg, and recovery rates of 86.3–109.6% across multiple food matrices.
- Soybean oil showed the highest PAH levels among tested foods, followed by duck meat and canola oil, according to the study's findings.
- A separate 2025 study in Foods found the highest PAH concentrations in Kezuribushi (smoked dried fish) and flagged grilled chicken feet as a possible health concern under the European Food Safety Authority's margin-of-exposure criteria.
- Per the National Cancer Institute, PAHs form when fat and juices drip onto hot surfaces or open flames and have caused cancer in animal studies, though human population studies have not established a definitive link between cooked-meat exposure and cancer.
- Prof. Lee says the approach simplifies sample preparation, cuts hazardous chemical use, and makes routine food safety screening more practical for labs and regulators.
Why it matters: The NCI has flagged an evidence gap between animal PAH carcinogenicity and confirmed human risk, making better detection tools a regulatory priority. A faster, cheaper QuEChERS protocol could let food labs screen more products across oils, smoked meats, and cereals, supporting contamination-source investigations without the heavy solvent footprint of older extraction methods.
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