Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in products of a beet sugar factory in vojvodina: Levels and intakes

Abstract

The levels of 16 EPA polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in samples of sugar beets and their products representative for a beet sugar factory located in the central part of Vojvodina, the main agricultural region in Serbia. The sum of the detected PAHs ranged from 51 pg g-1 ww for molasses to 391 pg g-1 ww for dried sugar beet pulp. The concentration of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) for all sample types was about or less than 100 pg g-1 ww, which is far less than the existing Serbian and EU tolerances set for some foodstuffs. The Serbian intake of BaP via total sugar consumption that ranged from 70-85 g per capita day-1, was assessed to be from 0.029 to 0.035 ng kg-1b.w. day-1. Furthermore, the toxic equivalency factor (TEF) approach was used to estimate the carcinogenicity of PAH mixture found in analyzed samples.