You often hear common advices about not eating burned food because of the development of carcinogenic matter. Let's say a pizza that has been kept too long in the oven; not completely burned, but not fresh looking either. And even if you keep the recommended times to heat up the pizza, you often have black spots in the toppings, or the crust.
Is there any reliable insight concerning the matter? I don't like too waste food, but it's a thing that really bugs me from time to time.
Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemicals formed when muscle meat, including beef, pork, fish, or poultry, is cooked using high-temperature methods, such as pan frying or grilling directly over an open flame
These chemicals are found to be mutagenic and may increase the risk of cancer.
From the same article, things that influence how much HCA's and PAH's are:
meat type
cooking method
"doneness” level (rare, medium, or well done)
Whatever the type of meat, however, meats cooked at high temperatures, especially above 300ºF (as in grilling or pan frying), or that are cooked for a long time tend to form more HCAs. For example, well done, grilled, or barbecued chicken and steak all have high concentrations of HCAs. Cooking methods that expose meat to smoke or charring contribute to PAH formation
For bioactivation the HCA'S and PAH's need to be metabolized by specific enzymes in the body. While:
Studies have shown that exposure to HCAs and PAHs can cause cancer in animal models
Population studies have not established a definitive link between HCA and PAH exposure from cooked meats and cancer in humans
Additional highlights:
More research is being done
No official FDA guidelines are available
The cancer.gov article did give some tips on how to reduce HCA and PAH formation when cooking
