Polyaromatic hydrocarbons of smoked cured muscle foods prepared by Canadian Tl'azt'en and Llheidli T'enneh First Nation communities.

Tl'azt'en and Lheidli T'enneh First Nation communities have traditionally used smoking, drying, and salting of fish and game as preservation methods to enhance food security. Our results showed that levels of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were significantly higher in smoked salmon samples compared to moose meats, and further, that PAH contents were also dependent on the duration of smoke processing. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) was not detected in fresh or partially smoked foods, but was present in both fully smoked moose (1.4 μg/kg) and fully smoked salmon (3.6 μg/kg) meats, respectively. The total concentrations of PAH present in fully smoked meats using traditional smoke processing methods employed by Tl'azt'en and Lheidli T'enneh nations indicate that a risk assessment is required to determine the safety of these smoke-processed foods.