Any risk to humans from the heterocyclic amines formed during cooking needs to be determined based on the combination of human exposure and toxicological effects, either extrapolated from animals and model systems or measured in humans. Epidemiology can test directly the association of the consumption of heterocyclic amines in cooked meat with cancer aetiology in humans and some studies do suggest such a relationship. It has, however, been difficult to develop estimates of the cancer risks posed by dietary exposure to heterocyclic amines because of incomplete information on their concentrations in foods as consumed by the general population. Many authors have analysed cooked meats for mutagenic activity or for specific heterocyclic amines. Samples were, in most cases, cooked in the laboratory to mimic well-done