Abstract
Background: In eastern Turkey, upper gastrointestinal (oesophageal and gastric) cancers are endemic and dietary factors play an essential role in carcinogenesis. Design: Laboratory analysis of benzo(a)pyrene (BP) and 1,2-benzanthracene (BA) levels in a range of cooked foods in use in the Van region. Materials and Methods: BP and BA levels (ppb) in bread and cooked meat samples were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. An analysis of variance and the multitest were used. Results: The mean BP level was highest in bread baked in a bakery using fuel oil (3.32 ppb), followed by bread baked in an oven burning dried dung, fatty pizza cooked using a wood fire and meat roasted on a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) fire (2.51, 2.37 and 2.32 ppb, respectively; p>0.05). The mean BP level in bread baked in a bakery using fuel oil was significantly higher than that in meat roasted in an oven burning dried dung, bread baked in an oven using wood fire and meat cooked using a wood fire (2.03, 1.54 and 1.39 ppb, respectively, p<0.01). Mean BA levels were highest in bread baked in an oven burning dried dung and bread baked in a bakery using fuel oil (1.06 and 1.04 ppb, respectively), followed by meat roasted using a LPG fire, fatty pizza cooked using a wood fire and meat roasted in an oven burning dried cow dung (0.91, 0.77 and 0.73 ppb, respectively, p>0.05). The mean BA levels in bread baked in an oven burning dried dung and bread baked in a bakery using fuel oil were significantly higher than those in bread baked in an oven using a wood fire and meat cooked using a wood fire (0.55 and 0.55 ppb, respectively, p<0.01). The mean BP levels were two to three times more elevated than the mean BA levels in all food samples. Conclusions: These findings reveal the carcinogenic role of traditional foods baked or cooked using animal manure or fuel oil in the Van region because of high BP and BA levels.