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ABSTRACTFood preparation methods like smoking and roasting have been associated with increased levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in foods. These chemicals which have been found to be toxic and carcinogenic have become of great global concern with regard to their injurious implications to human health as well as the environment. This work therefore used gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to identify and determine the concentration of PAHs in roasted plantain (Bōle) and barbecued beef (Sūya) along with the raw samples of the same food being used as a control. The results revealed that the food samples contained variable concentrations of PAHs. The total PAHs concentrations were 2.69ppm, 0.18ppm and 0.01ppm for barbecued beef (Sūya), roasted plantain (Bōl𝑒)) and raw beef respectively. The PAHs that were found in smoked beef were benzo(a)pyrene(1.20ppm), benzo(a)anthracene (0.5ppm), chrysene (0.53ppm), napthalene (0.46ppm) and acenaphthene (0.22ppm). Only phenanthrene (0.01ppm) was found in raw beef. The PAHs found in roasted plantain were benzo(a)pyrene (0.11ppm), benzo(k)fluoranthene (0.04ppm) and benzo(b)fluoranthene (0.03ppm). The results revealed that there was no PAH detected in raw unripe and ripe plantain samples. The highest PAH content was observed in sūya with benzo(a)pyrene being the most abundant. The study showed that PAHs contamination in the analysed foods exceeded the permissible limit. Health risks linked with the consumption of these foods is a real danger, therefore roasting or smoking method of food preparation should be replaced with non-smoking processes.
