A celebratory product par excellence, smoked salmon is on the menu for many celebrations throughout the year. If smoking is an ancestral food preservation process, what are its effects on health? Santé Sur le Net has taken an interest in this question, which could change our view of smoked foods.
Smoking food, an ancestral preservation process
Smoking is a universal method of preserving food, dating back to the discovery of fire in the Paleolithic era. After a preliminary salting stage, meat and fish are subjected to the action of wood smoke for several days. During this process, smoked foods :
- Lose some of their water content, which allows them to be stored longer;
- Are rid of a large number of microorganisms, destroyed by smoke;
- Are colored with a particular hue;
- Acquire a typical taste, which is often sought after by many people.
To know! Do not confuse smoked foods, using an appropriate smoking process, and foods with a smoked taste, to which a smoked flavoring, most often artificial, has been added.
For smoking, several types of wood can be used, including:
- Conifers;
- Shrubs;
- Vine shoots;
- Aromatic plants.
Two main types of traditional smoking are distinguished:
- Cold smoking, with smoke whose temperature does not exceed 30°C;
- Hot smoking, where the temperature of the smoke gradually increases to reach 80°C.
More recently, new smoking methods have been developed, such as the incorporation of liquid smoke extracts or the spraying of a smoke mist.
Antioxidants and antimicrobials…
Nowadays, smoking is no longer just a food preservation process, but above all a way of preparing various luxury products, such as smoked salmon. But what is the impact of smoking on health?
During smoking, the exposure of food to smoke produces different substances, some with positive effects on health, such as:
- Antimicrobial substances, which help destroy microorganisms and limit the risk of foodborne infection;
- Antioxidant substances, in particular phenolic compounds, whose beneficial effects on health are recognized.
But at the same time, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are also produced, with more or less harmful effects on health. Indeed, in the PAH family, 16 substances are considered dangerous for the environment and health by the American public health authorities, and 6 are recognized as potential carcinogens.
… but also PAHs and benzopyrene
The best-known of the PAHs is benzopyrene, which is found in smoked foods and has been labeled as a potential carcinogen.
It remains difficult to decide on the question of the beneficial or harmful effects of smoked foods on health. Traditional smoking has positive effects, but at the same time produces potentially harmful substances. In addition, the health impact of smoked foods depends on several factors:
- The initial quality of the feed used, for example in the case of salmon, between intensively farmed salmon, Label Rouge salmon, wild salmon, or organic salmon;
- The smoking process used, the cold method produced less PAH than the hot method;
- The smoking conditions, including the species of wood used, the humidity of the wood, and the level of oxygen in the smoking chamber.
Moreover, smoked foods are not the main source of dietary exposure to PAHs, which are also found in oils, other fats, or cereals.
In conclusion, consuming smoked foods regularly and in large quantities does not appear to be recommended for health. But nothing seems to contraindicate a slice of smoked salmon during the holidays!