Processing effects on the polyaromatic hydrocarbon content of grapeseed oil

Grapeseed oil can occasionally have dangerous levels for human health of po lycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) due to the drying process, which invol ves direct contact with combustion gases. Oil samples extracted from grapes eeds before and after drying were analyzed for their PAH content with a new , fast, bi-dimensional liquid chromatography method. Samples collected befo re drying had relatively high PAH amounts; Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) content ran ged from 0.9 to 2.4 ppb with an average of 1.4 ppb. The high contamination level found in the raw material is probably due to the practice of compacti ng pomace with bulldozers to reduce its volume before storage. The drying p rocess did not significantly influence the light PAH content, but caused a large increase of the heavy fraction. BaP with an average content of 20.2 p pb, had the largest increase.