Reducing Dietary PAHs Exposure from Smoked Fish and Grilled Pork in Benin with the QualiSani Kiln.

Traditional smoking and grilling in Benin generate high polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels. This study aims to evaluate the effect of an improved indirect-heat kiln (QualiSani) on PAHs exposure and health risk. Fifteen PAHs were measured in 46 samples of grilled pork, smoked fish and smoked-dried fish. Deterministic and 10,000-iteration Monte Carlo simulations estimated margin of exposure (MOE) distributions were used to assess the risk for 300 pork consumers and 186 fish consumers. For carcinogenic compounds such as PAHs, in line with European Food Safety Agency guidance, MOE ≥ 10,000 indicates low concern. Thanks to the QualiSani kiln, PAHs levels were reduced to about 98% (for grilled pork) and 99% (for smoked fish and smoked-dried fish). In both deterministic and probabilistic risk assessments, all the MOEs were well above 10,000 except for ∼2% of high-end consumers showing low health concern for human health. In conclusion, the use of the QualiSani kiln in replacement of traditional techniques allows to lower to safe levels the Beninese consumer exposure to PAHs through grilled and smoked food consumption.