Smoke flavouring and PAH levels in farmed rainbow trout fillets
What it found
Mild smoking with liquid smoke flavourings or traditional flue gas did not change PAH levels in rainbow trout fillets.
The PAHs found were likely already present from environmental pollution.
What they found
PAHs in all samples
Eight specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were found in every sample tested. This included raw fillets and those treated with both smoking methods.
Most PAHs unchanged by smoking
For most of the chemicals measured, levels were about the same in fresh and smoked fillets. The two smoking methods also gave similar results for most compounds.
Two chemicals differed
Chrysene and benzo(b)fluoranthene were exceptions where levels did differ between the groups. The text does not say which method produced higher amounts of these two.
Source of the chemicals
The authors say the chemicals found in the trout fillets likely came from environmental pollution. They conclude that this mild smoking process did not affect the chemical concentrations.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in the trout fillets likely came from environmental pollution rather than the smoking process.
- They state that the mild smoking methods used in their work did not change the levels of these chemicals.
How it was done
Smoking fish can add polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are unwanted chemicals. The authors wanted to compare traditional flue gas smoking with liquid smoke flavourings to see how each affected these chemicals in trout.
They tested raw and smoked rainbow trout fillets for several specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Fillets were smoked at 25 degrees C for 3 hours using either traditional flue gas or liquid smoke flavourings. Raw fillets served as a control group.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This work looked only at farmed rainbow trout processed at one low temperature for 3 hours. It cannot show what happens with other fish, higher temperatures, or longer smoking times.
- Because this was a lab test on fish fillets, it cannot show what effect eating these products has on people.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Teramo, Italy
The paper
- Title
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) processed by traditional flue gas smoking and by liquid smoke flavourings
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Visciano P, Perugini M, Conte F, Amorena M (2008). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) processed by traditional flue gas smoking and by liquid smoke flavourings. Food and chemical toxicology. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2008.01.001PubMed 18262709DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error