[Survey of contamination of food by 3, 4-benzopyrene. I. Demonstration of a universal method of determination. Application to the determination in complete meals in food emporia].

A versatile spectrofluorimetric method is proposed for the determination of 3,4-benzopyrene in foods and biological material. Recording the emission spectrum allows a reliable identification, and determination at a 0,2 ppb level, with 85 p. 100 recovery and good reproductibility. The time required for analysis is decreased, if compared to existing methods. As a test of its reliability, results of a survey on 3,4-benzopyrene content in canteen meals are presented. The values obtain are very low, generally below 1 ppb; their significance is discussed.