Comparison of Health Risks of Smoked Foods as Compared to Smoke Flavorings: Are Smoke Flavors “Healthier”?
Smoking foods was originally carried out in kiln with little control over the smoking process. More modern smoke generators burn hardwoods under controlled conditions of temperature and forced air recirculation. However, it is difficult to control, messy, and may leave tar deposits in the food.2 The two basic methods of traditional smoking are: cold smoking (temperatures less than 33C) and hot smoking, employing temperatures from 70 to 80C.
The International Organization of the Flavor Industry (IOFI) defines smoke flavorings as complex mixtures of components of smoke obtained by heating untreated wood to pyrolysis by a limited and controlled amount of air, dry distillation or superheated steam, then collecting the wood smoke in an aqueous collection system.
Wood smoke contains over 300 compounds, mostly phenols, carbonyls, acids, furans, alcohols, esters, lactones; as well as PAH. The proportion of these constituents depends on the type of wood employed, wood moisture, wood particle size, and the process of smoke manufacture. PAH then foods conventionally smoked due to the purification process during condensate manufacture.
The toxic compounds are not soluble in the aqueous condensate and precipitate and largely removed by decantation and filtration. However, awareness of the toxicity of PAH has led to
techniques to reduce their content in industrially smoked foods as well as smoke condensate flavored foods. In any case, WHO recommendations are for moderate consumption of such foods
to reduce the risk of cancer.
Adv Food Technol Nutr Sci Open J. 2015; 1(6): 130-134.doi: 10.17140/AFTNSOJ-1-122
