The occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in smoked dry fermented sausage with protected designation of origin <em>Petrovská klobása</em> from Serbia was determined by analysing PAHs from the US EPA and the EU priority lists. The peeled natural cased sausages smoked in industrial and traditional smokehouses were studied in order to assess the influence of smoking conditions on the PAH contents. The highest total concentration of EPA PAHs was found in the samples smoked in traditional smokehouse, being almost 15 times higher than the total EPA PAHs content in sausages smoked in industrial smokehouse; the content of EU PAHs in both types of the smoked products were similar, being close to 1.5 µg/kg. The most abundant compound was phenanthrene with the average content of about 31 µg/kg in traditionally smoked samples and about 3 µg/kg in industrially smoked samples. The concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene as well as the total concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluranthene and chrysene (consisting the so-called “PAH4” group) were rather low in both types of smoked sausages, being well below the corresponding maximum allowed levels set by the latest European Regulation 835/2011, not representing any risk to consumers’ health when PAHs presence is concerned.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in smoked dry fermented sausages with protected designation of origin Petrovská klobása from Serbia