Abstract: This study investigated the effects of five frying oils (peanut oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, 24° palm oil and 42° palm oil) on the content of benzo(a)pyrene in French fries, Youtiao (fried dough stick), and chicken nuggets in order to control the content of benzo(a)pyrene in fried foods. The content of benzo(a)pyrene in French fries, Youtiao and chicken nuggets sequentially fried with each of the oils at 176 ℃ for 165, 150 and 210 s (two batches daily for 5 successive days) was investigated using liquid chromatography. The results showed that with increasing number of frying cycles, the content of benzo(a)pyrene in all three fried foods also increased gradually. All the foods fried in peanut oil contained the highest level of benzo(a)pyrene, which was 1.64 μg/kg in French fries, 1.73 μg/kg in Youtiao and 1.15 μg/kg in chicken nuggets. In contrast, all the foods fried in 42° palm oil contained the lowest level of benzo(a)pyrene, which was 0.04 μg/kg in French fries, 0.10 μg/kg in Youtiao and 0.05 μg/kg in chicken nuggets. In conclusion, this study showed that 42° palm oil had better frying stability and the fried foods with it contained lower content of benzo(a)pyrene compared to the other oils.

Key words: French fries; Youtiao; chicken nugget; benzo(a)pyrene; oil