Concentrations and profiles of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in some commercial brands of tea-, coffee-, and cocoa-based food drinks in Nigeria

Abstract

Concentrations and profiles of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were determined in some popular commercial brands of tea-, coffee-, and cocoa-based food drinks in Nigeria by gas chromatograph-flame ionization after hexane/dichloromethane extraction and clean up. The concentrations of the σ16 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in these products ranged from 5.2-913.1, 38.7-593.1, and 38.0-1406.4 μ g kg-1 for tea-, coffee-, and cocoa-based food drinks, respectively. The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon profiles indicate the dominance of three and four rings PAHs in these food items. The concentrations of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) eight carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ranged from nd-218.9, nd-102.9, and nd-1248.5 g kg-1 for tea-, coffee-, and cocoa-based food drinks, respectively.