Chemical Properties and Toxicity of Cooking Aerosols (Meat and Fish)

YEONJU SIM, Minhan Park, Kihong Park, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology

     Abstract Number: 664
     Working Group: Indoor Aerosols

Abstract
Cooking activities are a significant source of indoor air pollution,s particularly fine particulate matter (PM2.5). However, research on the toxicity associated with fine particles generated by cooking is limited compared to studies on their physical and chemical properties. This study aims to compare the properties of toxicity between commonly consumed domestic pork and mackerel by simulating the grilling process in a self-designed cooking chamber. Filters were used to capture the emitted fine particles, and their chemical composition, including ions, elements, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), water-insoluble organic carbon (WISOC) were determined. Oxidative potential (OP) of chemical toxicity was observed. Also, inflammatory responses, cell viability, and DNA damage of the fine particles were analyzed using lung cancer cells (A549).

Chemical composition data showed that organic carbon compounds constituted the majority of PM2.5 for both pork and mackerel. Organic carbon accounted for over 90% of the total carbon content in both types of meat. Pork exhibited a WISOC to organic carbon ratio was 92%, while mackerel had a ratio of 78%. Emissions factors were 26.69μg/g for pork and 37.94 μg/g for mackerel. Mackerel's OP was approximately 4.3 times higher than pork, with a value of 35.07 pmol/min/μg. There was no significant difference in cell viability between mackerel (86.82 μg/ml) and pork (79.60 μg/ml). In terms of immune responses, both pork and mackerel exhibited a significant increase compared to the control when exposed to a concentration of 5 μg/ml or higher. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that mackerel was associated with WSOC, elements, OP, and inflammatory responses, while pork was associated with WISOC and cell toxicity.

In conclusion, the significantly higher OP and emissions factor for fine particles from cooking mackerel suggests that they may pose a greater health risk compared to grilling pork belly.