Smoking food and health risks

[Pferdestarke]

Does anyone know if all the associated articles relating to carcinogenic particles in smoked food, or food with excess carbonisation and the associated health risks are true?

Having just bought a smoker I'm apparently increasing the risk of all sorts of nasties.

Surely it's a case of all things in moderation but I'd rather not knowingly be increasing the chances of family members and myself developing such terrible illnesses.

[Mobile Chicane]

In a word, yes. Google 'nitrosamines' and 'heterocyclic amines'.

[Engineer1]

The links may be there but are they significant? raising your risk by 10% depends on the original risk from 1% to 1.1% is 10% but so is 90% to 99% one is still fk all the other is a damn near certainty.

[Cheese Mechanic]

With the hysterical food "standards" organisations there are about, I cannot imagine that if smoked food was a risk it would be allowed for sale. Or even with a big warning on it.

I well recall ,many years back, the great hooha concerning cyclamats in fruit squashes. Much jumping up and down product withdrawals, etc.

Eventually, the risk was put into laymans terms. Basically, it figured that if you drank approx 15 gallons a day of the squashes mentioned , over a period of a few years, then it may have been a problem.

Puts things into perspective , eh?

Incidentally, I believe cyclamats are still used in tiny quantities in artificial sweeteners.

[Simpo Two]

Water is dangerous if you fill a bucket with the stuff and put your head in it. Question of quantity.