Mutagen formation in fried meat emulsion containing various amounts of creatine.

The formation of mutagens in fried, minced meat emulsion was evaluated by the Ames Salmonella test system. Exogenous addition of creatine to the emulsion prior to frying greatly enhanced the mutagenicity of the emulsion. Addition of 5% creatine resulted in a 40-fold increase in the mutagenicity of the fried meat emulsion in the frameshift test strain, TA98, and in a 8-fold increase in the base substitution test strain, TA100. The present results suggest that creatine is an important factor in the mutagen formation in fried meat products.