Many people try to eat healthier by choosing more vegetables, fruits, lean meats, and home-cooked meals.
People often pay attention to calories, sugar, and fat, hoping to reduce the risk of disease and stay healthy for longer.
However, even foods that appear healthy can sometimes contain hidden chemical contaminants that are difficult to detect without specialized testing.
One group of chemicals that has raised concern among scientists is called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs.
These compounds can form when food is cooked at very high temperatures, especially during grilling, smoking, frying, or roasting. PAHs may also enter food through environmental pollution, including smoke, vehicle exhaust, and industrial contamination.
Scientists are particularly interested in PAHs because some of them have been linked to cancer in animal studies.
According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, PAHs can form when fat and juices from meat drip onto hot flames or surfaces, creating smoke that coats the food. Smoked foods can also contain higher levels of these chemicals.
Because PAHs may pose health risks, food safety experts around the world are trying to improve methods for detecting them in foods before products reach consumers. However, testing food for these compounds has traditionally been difficult, slow, and expensive.
Conventional laboratory methods often involve complicated preparation procedures that require large amounts of chemicals, heavy manual work, and long testing times. These methods can also expose laboratory workers to hazardous substances and generate chemical waste that may harm the environment.
To solve these problems, researchers have been developing newer and more efficient testing systems.
One method receiving growing attention is called QuEChERS, which stands for Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe. The name reflects the main goal of the technique: making food contaminant testing faster, simpler, and safer.
In a 2025 study, scientists from the Department of Food Science and Biotechnology at Seoul National University of Science and Technology tested how well the QuEChERS method could detect PAHs in food. The research was led by Professor Joon-Goo Lee and published in the journal Food Science and Biotechnology.
The scientists focused on eight important PAHs that are commonly monitored in food safety studies. These included chemicals such as benzo[a]pyrene and chrysene, which are often studied because of their possible harmful effects.
The research team used a chemical called acetonitrile to extract PAHs from food samples. They then tested different purification methods to improve accuracy. After preparing the samples, the researchers used advanced laboratory technologies called gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to measure the PAHs.
The results showed that the QuEChERS approach worked very well across many different types of food. The system was highly accurate and sensitive, meaning it could detect even extremely small amounts of contamination.
The researchers found that the highest PAH levels among the tested foods appeared in soybean oil, followed by duck meat and canola oil. This finding highlights how cooking methods, fat content, and food processing can influence contamination levels.
The study also showed that the new method could achieve strong recovery rates and consistent precision, meaning the measurements remained reliable across repeated tests. According to Professor Lee, the method simplifies the testing process while maintaining high efficiency and strong detection performance.
The importance of this work extends beyond laboratory science. Food safety testing plays a major role in protecting public health. Faster and more affordable testing could allow food manufacturers and regulators to inspect products more often and identify contamination problems earlier.
Researchers say the QuEChERS method may also improve laboratory safety because it uses fewer hazardous chemicals than traditional techniques. Reducing chemical use can lower costs, reduce pollution, and create safer working conditions for laboratory staff.
The study also fits into a larger trend in food safety research. Other scientists in 2025 have continued improving QuEChERS-based methods for different food products.
One study published in the journal Foods used a modified version of the method to test more than 300 retail food samples. The researchers found especially high PAH levels in smoked fish products and identified grilled chicken feet as another possible concern.
Another recent study examined cereals and cereal-based foods. Scientists tested nearly 100 cereal samples and found relatively low PAH contamination overall, although small amounts of chrysene were detected in some products.
Together, these studies show that PAH contamination can vary greatly depending on food type, preparation method, and environmental conditions. Smoked, grilled, and high-fat foods often appear more vulnerable to contamination.
The findings also highlight how food science is changing. Newer testing technologies are helping scientists identify hidden contaminants more quickly and accurately than ever before. These improvements may help regulators create safer food systems while giving consumers more confidence about the foods they eat.
At the same time, researchers caution that more work is still needed. Detecting PAHs is only the first step. Scientists must continue studying how long-term exposure affects human health and how contamination can be reduced during food production and cooking.
Still, the development of faster and cleaner testing methods represents an important step forward. By making food testing easier, cheaper, and more precise, researchers hope to better protect public health while also reducing chemical waste and improving environmental safety.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that a low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and vitamin D supplements could strongly reduce cancer death.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects the risks of heart disease and cancer and results showing higher intake of dairy foods linked to higher prostate cancer risk.
The study was published in Food Science and Biotechnology.
Source: Seoul National University of Science and Technology.
