The Analysis and Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Cereal Products: with the Chemometric Approch

Abstract

The analysis and probabilistic health risk assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in cereal products were done by using magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) method and gas chromatography/mass spectrometric (GC/MS). The level of sum sixteen PAHs in cereal products ranged from 98.2 (in Barbari bread) to 248.3 µg/kg (in rice cooked). Further, the correlation between the type and amount of 16 PAHs with cereal products samples evaluated with multivariate principal component analysis and heat map visualization. Estimation of incremental lifetime cancer risk in cereals ranged from 7.80E-6 to 2.35E-7. In conclusion, the PAHs content in the tested products were in low health risk ranges (1 × 10 − 6 < ILCR < 1 × 10 − 4), and all of the cereal products sold in Tehran are considered safe for consumers. Therefore, cereal products should be regularly evaluated and monitored by regulatory agencies to reduce contaminants in these high-consumption products.