Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are formed in the crust of cooked meat products. Most HAAs are
carcinogenic in long-term animal studies. Besides precursors in raw materials, important factors are temperature
and heating time. Bacon slices were investigated for concentrations of HAAs after pan-frying
under different monitored heating conditions. Two HAAs, MeIQx (2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo [4,5-
f]quinoxaline) (1.5–5.6 ng/g) and PhIP (2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine) (0.1–
2.6 ng/g), were found in pan-fried bacon slices. The bacon clearly contained higher concentrations of
HAAs both with longer frying times and at temperatures of 200–220 C rather than 150–170 C, respectively.
A similar continuous increase of the concentrations was observed for norharman (5.0–19.9 ng/g)
and harman (0.3–1.7 ng/g). The sensory evaluation, using a hedonic test design for colour and flavour,
of the pan-fried bacon slices resulted in a preferred frying time of 5 min at 150–170 C. However, some
testers clearly preferred crispy and darker bacon slices containing higher HAA concentrations.