Benzo(a)pyrene contents in commercial vegetable oils and changes during processing of vegetable oils

Abstract

The principal objective of this study was to estimate the benzo(a)pyrene contents in commercial vegetable oils available in the Korean market and to assess the effects of various processing steps for vegetable oils on the contents of benzo(a)pyrene. Benzo(a)pyrene content in the studied commercial vegetable oils, crude oils, and raw materials were found to be lower than the maximum levels of 2 ppb. In both refined and pressed oil, the benzo(a)pyrene contents can be reduced through refining steps. However, an evident increase of benzo(a)pyrene contents during both the expeller process for corn oil and the roasting process for sesame oil was observed. This result indicates that the processing procedure, particularly heat treatment and refining steps would be critical in managing the benzo(a)pyrene contents in vegetable oils.