Curing smoke

Dennis, M.J., Cripps, G.S., Tricker, A.R., Massey, R.C. and McWeeny, D.J. (1984). N-nitroso compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Icelandic smoked cured mutton. Food Chem. Toxic., 22(4), 305-306. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the addition of nitrate and nitrite salts to fish products. Maximum permitted levels vary among products and types of fish, with up to 500 ppm residual sodium nitrate or 200 ppm sodium nitrite permitted as a preservative and color fixative in smoke cured sable fish, shad, or salmon (Code of Federal Regulations, 1981a,b Committee on Nittite and Alternative Curing Agents in Food, 1981). 

Problem 1. Many rewards seem to function simultaneously or in close succession as both rewards and punishments. For instance, a person may in the same day or at the same instant both pay for cigarettes and pay for a smoking cure. Such conflictual rewards utterly defeat the Premack strategy of functional definition. 

Because cadavers comprise 60%-80% water their breakdown has been described as a competition between desiccation and decomposition (Auf-derheide 1981). The relationship between these processes is important because rapid desiccation can inhibit decomposition and result in the natural preservation of a cadaver for thousands of years, such as the natural mummies observed in Egypt (Ruffer 1921) and Peru (Allison 1979). Sledzik and Micozzi (1997) distinguished three types of mummification natural, intentional, and artificial. Dryness, heat, or absence of air may cause natural mummification. Intentional mummification is the result of exploitation or enhancement of natural mummification processes. Artificial mummification may be the result of evisceration, fire, or smoke curing and the application of embalming substances. 

The addition of certain substances to foodstuffs was practiced in ancient times, mostly for improving keeping properties. Salt was added to perishable foodstuffs such as meat and fish from the prehistoric ages on. Smoke curing can also be considered as the fortuitous addition of constituents to food, as wood smoke contains a number of compounds that are absorbed by the food during the smoke-curing process or are deposited onto the surface. These treatments not only prolong the shelf life of the food but also add to the flavor. 

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) represent a class of compounds that contain two or more fused benzene rings. They are environmental pollutants and the most ubiquitous, benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), has been upgraded by the International Agency for Research on Cancer to a Group 1 or known human carcinogen [1]. PAHs are products of fossil fuel combustion they are a component of fine particulate matter (size 2.5pm) and as a consequence contaminate the air we breathe, the soil and water supply, and enter the food chain [2, 3]. They are also introduced artificially into smoked, cured, and barbecued food [4, 5], Finally, they are present as a complex mixture in tobacco smoke and second-hand smoke, and are suspect causative agents in human lung cancer [6]. 

Being interested here in the volatile components of coffee aroma, we shall arbitrarily limit the list of the aromatic hydrocarbons to tricyclic structures. The higher fused polycyclic hydrocarbons (fluoranthene [206-44-0], pyrene [129-00-0], chrysene [218-01-9], benz[ ]anthracene (1,2-benzanthracene) [56-55-3], benz[< ]acephenanthrylene (3,4-benzofluoranthene) [205-99-2], benzo[ ]pyrene (3,4-benzopyrene, 3,4-BP) [50-32-8], benzo[e]pyrene (1,2-benzopyrene) [192-97-2], perylene [198-55-0], benzo[g,/i,/]perylene (1,12-benzopyrene) [191-24-2], and dibenz[ ,//]anthracene (1,2,5,6-dibenzanthracene) [53-70-3]) cannot be considered as a part of the aroma. However, as some of these, specially benzo[o pyrene, are known for carcinogenic properties, they have been particularly analyzed in food subject to roasting or smoke-curing. 

Dennis, M., G. Cripps, A.R. Tricker, R. Massey, and D. McWeeny A-Nitroso compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Icelandic smoke-cured mutton Food Chem. Toxicol. 22 (1984) 305-306. 

Products and Uses Used for smoked cured tunafish, sablefish, salmon, shad, frankfurters, luncheon meats, bacon, corned beef, ham (canned), meat (cured), and poultry. It is an antimicrobial (kills germs) agent color fixative in meat and meat products a preservative. 

Amines are organic bases that are usually present in biological materials (biogenic amines), processed foods and beverages (of concern are the nitrosamines in fried bacon, smoked/cured meat and fish. 

Food dyes, flavor enhancers and preservatives receive the brunt of criticism in the family of food additives. Preservatives do not really deserve this bad reputation as they replaced older, traditional techniques (smoking, curing) that are actually not without dangers. 

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