HETEROCYCLIC AROMATIC AMINE CONTENT OF SELECTED BEEF FLAVORS

Previous work has shown that meat extracts contain potent mutagenic an d/or carcinogenic heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs). Because meat ex tracts and some beef flavors are produced from similar precursors and processing steps, the beef flavors may also contain HAAs. This study a nalyzed 24 commercial beef flavors and 2 food-grade beef extracts for creatine and creatinine concentrations, mutagenic activity and HAA con centrations (IQ, MeIQ, MeIQ(x), DiMeIQ(x), Glu-P-1, Glu-P-2 and PhIP). The creatine and creatinine levels of the flavors ranged from 0 to 73 and from 0 to 21 mg/g (dry wt.), respectively. The mutagenic activiti es of the flavors ranged from 0 to 3200-Salmonella typhimurium TA98 re vertants/g (dry wt.). No direct relationship was found between creatin e and/or creatinine concentrations and mutagenic activities. However, flavors with high creatine (>1.5 mg/g) or creatinine(>2 mg/g) levels e xhibited higher mutagenic activities than did flavors with low levels of these compounds. Flavors with high mutagenic activities (> 1500 rev ertants/g) contained measurable amounts of HAAs. Three flavors contain ed MeIQ(x) (7.2-21.2 ng/g [dry wt.]) and one contained DiMeIQ(x) (4.2 ng/g [dry wt.]).