Selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in smoked tuna, swordfish and Atlantic salmon fillets

The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in commercial smoked fillets of tuna, swordfishand Atlantic salmon was studied. In Europe, the smoking technique is widely used in fish processing andthese species are the most representative of the taste of consumers for smoked products. Samples werepurchased on the Italian market and analysed by HPLC. Mean concentrations (ng g)1) of acenaphthene (4.4,6.2, 11.2), phenanthrene (11.5, 18.5, 8.9), anthracene (2.4, 5.2, 1.8), fluoranthene (17.0, 9.4, 4.7),benzo(k)fluoranthene (0.3, 0.1, 0.2) and benzo(a)pyrene (1.3, 0.1, 0.4) were found in Atlantic salmon, tunaand swordfish respectively. Benzo(b)fluoranthene (1.2 ng g)1) was detected only in Atlantic salmon whereasdibenz(a,h)anthracene was never detected in this species, but only in tuna (0.5 ng g)1) and swordfish(1.1 ng g)1). Atlantic salmon contained the highest level of benzo(a)pyrene (2.8 ng g)1) which is below theEuropean regulatory level of 5 ng g)1.[...]