Throw another tinnie on the barbie: Researchers find marinading meat in beer before grilling can reduce cancer-causing chemicals

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• Say pilsner and black beer is most effective
• Can halve the amount of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which have been linked to colorectal cancer

As barbecue season approaches, researchers have discovered an unlikely ingredient that could improve the safety of your meat – letting it swill in beer.

They say that letting meat marindade in pilsner can help reduce the formation of potentially harmful cancer-causing substances in grilled meats.

They say pilsner and black beer are most effective, halving the amount of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which have been linked to colorectal cancer.

By MARK PRIGG

Throw another beer on the barbie: Researchers say some beers can reduce cancer-causing chemicals in meat if used as a marinade before grilling

The researchers are reporting that the very same beer that many people enjoy at backyard barbeques could, when used as a marinade, help reduce the formation of potentially harmful substances in grilled meats.

The researchers grilled samples of pork marinated for four hours in Pilsner beer, non-alcoholic Pilsner beer or a black beer ale, to well-done on a charcoal grill.

Black beer had the strongest effect, reducing the levels of eight major PAHs by more than half compared with unmarinated pork.

“Thus, the intake of beer marinated meat can be a suitable mitigation strategy,” say the researchers.

The study appears in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

I.M.P.L.V.O. Ferreira and colleagues at the Universidade do Porto in Portugal explain that past studies have shown an association between consumption of grilled meats and a high incidence of colorectal cancer.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are substances that can form when meats are cooked at very high temperatures, like on a backyard grill.

And high levels of PAHs, which are also in cigarette smoke and car exhaust, are associated with cancers in laboratory animals, although it’s uncertain if that’s true for people.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are substances that can form when meats are cooked at very high temperatures, like on a backyard grill.

Nevertheless, the European Union Commission Regulation has established the most suitable indicators for the occurrence and carcinogenic potency of PAHs in food and attributed maximum levels for these compounds in foods.

Beer, wine or tea marinades can reduce the levels of some potential carcinogens in cooked meat, but little was known about how different beer marinades affect PAH levels, until now.

The researchers grilled samples of pork marinated for four hours in Pilsner beer, non-alcoholic Pilsner beer or a black beer ale, to well-done on a charcoal grill.

Black beer had the strongest effect, reducing the levels of eight major PAHs by more than half compared with unmarinated pork.

“Thus, the intake of beer marinated meat can be a suitable mitigation strategy,” say the researchers.

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