A slice of toast with burnt edges, smeared with jam. Charred vegetables from the grill. Burnt-to-a-crisp marshmallows ...

The biggest concern with charred foods is acrylamide ... it produces compounds called HCAs and PAHs, which have been linked to cancer in animal studies. While research on humans is still ongoing ...

The smoke from the burning heat source also covers the surface with PAHs, and build-up can occur in smoked foods at any temperature. Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are chemicals created when any meat ...

He added the results had been passed on to the Centre for Food Safety for follow up ... The findings also showed PAHs were detected in more than 40 per cent of the samples, including nine pork ...

enter the food chain, and accumulate in humans and animals over time. This is a public health crisis in slow motion. The UJ team traced over 70% of PAHs to these sources. Dr Seopela said the ...