Every week Mary Ellen Burris writes an article on a subject relating to food, health, reader questions and concerns, and other important subjects. Meat We ve been asked whether there s reason to worry about cancer-causing chemicals formed during grilling. The National Cancer Institute says it really isn t clear how significant a problem it is. What is clear is that cooking certain meats at high temperatures creates chemicals that are not present in uncooked meats. Meat and poultry produce the most HCAs because they contain the most amino acids and creatine, which are converted into HCAs.
Seafood produces much less, and veggies and fruit little or none.
They go up in the smoke, can land on the food, and they can also form directly on food when it s cooked to a crisp. As many as 12 of the l8 PAHs found in cooked food cause cancer in lab animals. However, proof that they cause cancer in humans is still elusive. Most of the research has centered on HCAs. While four factors influence their formation .type of food, cooking method, temperature and time temperature is the most important one.