Health Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Processed Cocoa Foods
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Date
JUNE, 2018
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Abstract
Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) have carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic properties, making
their presence in food and environment dangerous for human health. This study accessed the health
risk due to PAH associated with the consumption of processed cocoa foods in Kumasi. A total of
60 food samples (matrices) were sampled from 5 locations in Kumasi metropolis - About 300
respondents in a survey helped determine the body weights, amounts consumed and their contact
rate as input variables for the risk assessment. A probabilistic risk assessment framework based on
incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) approaches was used to quantitatively estimate their risk
of exposure. The oral-ILCR for the 95th percentile which represents the highest consumable group
of the population was 2.59x10-6. This level of risk exposure was above the acceptable 10-6 range
of the de minimis. This indicates that there is a cancer risk on the consumers used for the study,
given that cocoa products are the only source of exposure. The sensitivity analysis indicated that,
the contact rate has a strong positive correlation and regression to the risk exposure. It is therefore
important to reduce the rate of consumption as to reduce the incidence of PAH accumulation in
the body.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Science, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Food Quality Management,