The past week of Dr. Norton’s Chem-468 class was filled with many interesting topics of discussion, most of which sparked lively debates in our class. I was particularly drawn to a string of three articles discussing an elevated cancer risk associated with cooking meat. That’s right. Cooking it, not eating it. When I started reading the articles, I couldn’t help but think: ‘…seriously?! EVERYTHING seems to cause cancer eventually-what’s so special about this?’ Then I read on. As it turns out, the amino acids found in muscle meats have the potential to react with creatine, a chemical also found in the muscles, at high temperatures. Though this reaction sounds harmless, the products are carcinogenic.
As many as 17 heterocyclic amines, otherwise known as HCAs, have been identified by the National Cancer Institute as posing a cancer risk. Research shows that the majority of these HCAs are released when meats are cooked at high temperatures. Therefore, broiling, barbecuing, and frying are especially dangerous. The risk also increases with cooking time, so a well-done steak is more harmful than a chef-recommended medium-rare steak. Furthermore, a study done by the University of California’s Department of Environmental Toxicology has shown that type of meat matters when it comes to HCAs. Their study compared samples of beef, temph (soy), and bacon (pork). Researchers isolated the fumes formed by each in a vacuum filter/condensation set-up. They found that bacon strips contained the most HCA and that their fumes were the most potent. Beef patties and soy followed, respectively.
As it turns out, the threat of HCAs is pretty genuine, though most of us do not cook meat enough to be overly concerned. Cooking temperatures reported in the studies are higher than what would be encountered in a typical home setting. For chefs and restaurant owners, however, this new research is important: they are typically exposed to the air content in a restaurant kitchen for prolonged periods of time. Preventative measures such as microwaving and-get this- using a lower quality of meat may decrease the amount of HCAs. As much as I respect this research (I hope that it continues as it is important to restaurant-worker safety), I cannot say that I will be switching to medium-rare steaks anytime soon. Even though I will ingest a few extra HCAs, I cannot fathom eating a piece of meat that is still ‘mooing’ at me!
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Along with your thoughts, I think that disclaimers should come along with positions and careers that may have more exposure to these HCAs. Otherwise, the level of HCAs in normal home cooking in normal temperatures seem to be insignificant to other factors that may contribute to cancer or other illnesses.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to Courtney's post and Chi's response, as we mentioned in class, I wish we could simply have the HCA levels of the typically home cooking environment. This would involve styles of cooking and temperatures ranges that are more applicable to the average citizen.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would like to see how microwaving meat alters the cooking process and taste of meat. If little alteration results, a regulation or recommendation could be made to have all raw meats microwaved in kitchens as a health and safety precaution. In this manner, we can eliminate the major threats of restaurants.