Diets containing substantial amounts of red meat may increase the
risk of various types of cancer. The association with red meat intake
may be due to a combination of factors, such as content of fat,
protein, and iron, and/or meat preparation (e.g. cooking or preserving
methods). Experimental studies have shown that meats cooked at high
temperatures contain heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are mutagenic and carcinogenic in animals.
To estimate intake of these meat-cooking mutagens a detailed meat
cooking module within a Food Frequency Questionnaire in conjunction
with a mutagen database was developed. Charred is a software application
to estimate intake of the mutagenic compounds in cooked meats.
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