Summer Barbeques Sizzle With Chemistr

7/11/2002

From: Tiffany Steele McAvoy of the American Chemical Society, 202-872-6042

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 66 million Americans said they took part in a barbeque in 1999. Here are some tips from the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, on the some of the science behind summer cookouts:

At the BBQ, well done not good: Eating certain meats cooked at high temperatures could increase your chances of getting stomach cancer, report researchers at the National Cancer Institute. Cooking meats at high temperatures creates chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that are otherwise not present in uncooked meats. Formed from the cooking of muscle meats (beef, pork, fish and poultry), HCAs are chemicals that can cause cell mutations -- a first step of cancer. Not only that, but HCAs are the most potent mutation-causing agents yet to be found. Consumers can cut down the amount of HCAs in their cookouts by marinating their meats, partially cooking meats before putting them on the grill, keeping meat on the rare side, and adding soy to their burgers.

Frank findings about fat and flavor: Science has finally gone to the dogs ... hot dogs, that is. Researchers in Northern Ireland explained in the December 20, 1999, issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry why reduced-fat frankfurters might taste slightly different from regular franks. The researchers say that aroma compounds, which affect flavor, appear to be released more slowly and last longer in full-fat frankfurters than in the lower-fat variety.

Toward a better burger -- "Where's the selenium?": Beef raised on the Northern Plains contains unusually high levels of selenium -- an important cancer fighter -- according to a study published in the February 2001 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. On average, beef is the single largest source of selenium in the North American diet -- about 20 percent of the total dietary requirement. Lead researcher John W. Finley, a chemist at USDA's Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center in North Dakota, says, "In some areas the selenium concentrations were high enough to supply more than one day's selenium requirement in a modest 100 gram serving of beef (approximately the size of a hamburger patty)." In contrast, the average burger made from beef raised in other parts of the United States contains only about one-third of the daily selenium requirement.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of crispier potato chips: A safe, benign gas used to preserve everything from wine to the U.S. Declaration of Independence is now being used to package foods such as potato chips. Packaging food with argon instead of nitrogen gas extends its shelf life, maintains its freshness, and improves its overall quality, according to Kevin C. Spencer, Ph.D., senior scientific and technical advisor for the British grocery chain Safeway Stores plc. Taste tests and other studies have shown about a 25 percent improvement in shelf life and quality of argon-packaged foods such as potato chips, processed meats and lettuce. Some products, such as fresh pizza, have been improved 40 to 50 percent, he says. Nearly 200 argon-packaged foods already can be found on grocery store shelves in the United Kingdom, and several companies are exploring opportunities to introduce these products to the United States.

Catnip repels mosquitoes more effectively than DEET: An oil found in catnip that gives the plant its characteristic odor is about ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET, the compound used in most commercial insect repellants, researchers at Iowa State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service in Starkville, Miss., have found. While they used so-called yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) -- one of several species of mosquitoes found in the United States -- entomologist Chris Peterson, Ph.D., says catnip should work against all types of mosquitoes. Aedes aegypti, which can carry the yellow fever virus from one host to another, is found in most parts of the United States.