Rapid Fluorometric Determination of Benzo(a)pyrene in Foods

A simple and rapid fluorometric method for determining benzo (a) pyrene in foods was developed. Benzo (a) pyrene is extracted from foods with n-hexane:ether mixture (4:1), purified through a column of activated alumina and determined fluorometrically. An excitation wavelength of 295 nm and emission wavelength of 403 nm were used for calculating concentrations of benzo (a) pyrene. The peak height at 403 nm and baseline between 392 and 418 nm were employed to derive a standard curve for quantitating benzo (a) pyrene. A calibration curve for between 0.04 – 4 ng/ml of benzo (a) pyrene was used. Recoveries of benzo (a) pyrene from 14 kinds of food spiked at levels of 20 and 2ppb were within the range of 79.5 – 93.8% and 50.0 – 80.6%, respectively. The entire procedure takes only one hour with the detection limit being 0.1 ppb. Benzo (a) pyrene detected was reconfirmed by thin-layer chromatography.