Heat and mass transfer in chicken breasts - effect on PhIP formation

Heterocyclic amines are mutagenic/carcinogenic compounds that are found in cooked meat and fish. These compounds are of concern in the aetiology of human cancer and therefore it is important to minimise their formation during cooking, and their intake. PhIP (2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]-pyridine, CAS no: 105650-23-5) is one heterocyclic amine that is found at high levels in cooked chicken. Chicken breast was cooked to a centre temperature of 72degreesC using the following cooking methods: boiling, oven roasting, oven roasting in a special roasting-bag or in a clay pot, broiling, deep-frying and pan-frying. The temperature on the surface and at the centre was monitored by thermocouples during cooking, and these data, together with drip loss determined by means of weight reduction, were used to create temperature profiles and to calculate cook-values and rate of drip loss. The samples were analysed for PhIP using solid-phase extraction and HPLC. PhIP was detected in the broiled (0.07 ng/g), deep fried (0.02 ng/g) and pan-fried (0.04 30 ng/g) chicken breast. The cooking temperature and rate of drip loss had great impact on crust formation during pan-frying, and greatly affected the amount of PhIP formed. High temperature and high rate of drip loss were found to be most favourable for the formation of PhIP.