Otherindependent cross-checkabstract checked I-MEAT-110 standard review
Frying boiled meat in saturated fat produced more harmful amines
Frying oils with lower levels of saturated fatty acids induce less heterocyclic amine formation in meat floss (boiled, shredded and fried pork)
Overview
Pan T et al.. Int J Food Sci Technol 2020 · DOI 10.1111/ijfs.14368
Boiled, shredded pork fried in lard or palm oil formed more heterocyclic amines than when fried in soybean oil.
Does the study support the specific claim? No · Methodological quality: moderate
Plain-language summary
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
Compare frying fats for HCA formation.
- How was the study done?
Lab experiment.
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
Meat floss.
- What was actually found?
Saturated fats gave more HCAs.
- How large was the observed effect?
Significant differences (P < 0.05).
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Boiling first does not stop frying from forming these compounds; the frying fat matters.
- What are the study's limitations?
Pork; ghee not tested.
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
Questions the 'fry in ghee' step.
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
Universal.
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
It cannot show health effects.
Scientific in-depth review
1. Full reference
- Authors
- Pan T et al.
- Journal
- Int J Food Sci Technol
- Year
- 2020
- Identifier
- DOI 10.1111/ijfs.14368
- Verification
- verified – Europe PMC (AGRICOLA record IND606821536) and Crossref works API 2026-10-26; not indexed in PubMed
- Retracted
- no
- Corrections
none (Crossref: no update-to or relation)
- Extent checked
- abstract only
- Conflicts of interest and funding
Not stated in abstract.
2. Research question
Does the type of frying fat affect heterocyclic amine formation in meat that is boiled, shredded and then fried?
3. Study design and population
- Study design
- Other – Laboratory food chemistry experiment
- Population
Pork meat floss
- Country
China
- Period
not stated in abstract
- Sample size
Not applicable
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria
not detailed in abstract
4. Methods and endpoints
- Exposure / intervention
Frying in lard or palm oil (more saturated)
- Comparator
Soybean oil (less saturated)
- Endpoints
Heterocyclic amines (Norharman, Harman, AalphaC, MeAalphaC and total)
- Statistical methods
Group comparisons (P < 0.05)
5. Actual results
- Results
Norharman, Harman, AalphaC and MeAalphaC were higher in meat floss fried with lard and palm oil than with soybean oil; total HCAs with palm oil at 150 C and 180 C were significantly higher than with soybean oil and lard; soybean oil gave the lowest levels at 120-180 C.
- Absolute risks
not reported
- Authors' conclusion
Soybean oil could replace lard to produce meat floss with fewer HCAs.
6. Strengths
- Tests the same boil-then-fry sequence
7. Weaknesses
- Pork product; ghee not tested
- Laboratory only
8. Risk of bias
- Orienting tool
- none applicable
- Type of assessment
- simplified assessment (abstract only)
- Full formal assessment
- no
- Overall risk of bias
- not assessable
- Rationale
Laboratory study.
9. Assessment of the statistical interpretation
Not applicable.
10. Relevance to the specific claim
Boiled-then-fried meat still forms HCAs during frying, and more saturated frying fats (lard, palm oil) gave more HCAs than soybean oil. Ghee is a highly saturated fat, so frying in ghee is unlikely to be the lowest-HCA choice (ghee itself not tested).
11. Independent contrary findings
For total HCAs, only palm oil (150 and 180 C) was significantly higher than soybean oil and lard; lard raised individual HCAs.
12. Transferability to Germany and Europe
Universal chemistry.
13. Overall methodological judgement
Indirect evidence against the 'fry in ghee' part.
| Multidimensional assessment | |
|---|---|
| Authenticity of the source | verified |
| Methodological quality | moderate |
| Risk of bias | not assessable |
| Precision of results | not applicable |
| Directness | indirect |
| Reproducibility | unknown |
| Consistency with the overall evidence | unknown |
| Regional transferability | moderate |
| Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive) | not applicable |
14. Open questions
Direct test with ghee and red meat.
15. Linked fact checks
- Red meat should first be boiled well and then fried in ghee; this is the recommended cooking method in the system. – Studies contradicting or limiting the claim