Background: The study aimed to determine how different smoking methods and levels of fat content affect the generation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in smoked buffalo meat sausages. Methods: The treatments included conventional smoking at 60oC for 40 minutes (T1A), 3% diluted liquid smoke (T1B), and 7% diluted liquid smoke (T1C). The fat percentage in the sausages was substituted with inulin as a fat replacer in the successive treatments (T2A, T2B, T2C, T3A, T3B, T3C). Nine PAH compounds were analysed: Fluoranthene, chrysene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b) fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(ghi)perylene, and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene. Result: Out of the nine PAHs, fluoranthene and chrysene were identified in the examined treated samples of PAHs. No substantial variance was noted regarding fat levels or smoking methods. The chrysene concentrations varied between 32.27 and 38.37 µg/kg, while fluoranthene levels fluctuated from 15.10 to 53.47 µg/kg. All treated samples were free of benzo(a)pyrene, which is considered the most potent carcinogen.

Smoked pork and chicken sausages were prepared using three different time-temperature combinations; 60 °C for 4 hours, 75 °C for 3 hours, and 90 °C for 2 hours. The amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in these smoked products was estimated using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The PAH compounds were identified using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) and the retention time of that particular compound. The most potent carcinogenic PAH compound, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), was not detected in any of the treatments analyzed. The pork and chicken sausages were found to contain the following PAH compounds: Flu, BaA, Chr, BbF, and BkF. Chrysene was found in all samples in the range from 27.38 to 45.08 µg/kg. It was observed that a higher smoking temperature (90 °C) resulted in more PAH compounds in the sausages. Furthermore, the chicken sausages were found to have higher concentrations of PAHs, particularly Chr and BaA, than the pork sausages.