Benzene in food

Benzene is an organic chemical introduced into food from smoking, roasting, or exposure to ionizing irradiation. Benzene is used to manufacture a wide range of industrial products and is released into the air from emissions of automobiles and from burning oil and coal. It is a known carcinogen and can cause leukemia at high levels of consumption.

It occurs naturally in some foods like meat, eggs and bananas. In 1990, it was discovered by the USA soft drinks industry that benzene could be produced at low levels in certain soft drinks containing a benzoate preservative and ascorbic acid.

Roasting of food can potentially generate benzene from pyrolytic decomposition of food ingredients. 

Benzene concentrations in roasted coffee beans were estimated to be about 0.1 to 0.15 ppm as compared with 0.1 ppb in brewed coffee. Most of foods were found to contain less than 1 ppb benzene with the exception of peanuts and canned olives, which were found to contain about 2 ppb benzene.

Benzene is a proven carcinogen and has been shown to cause cancers in industrial workers exposed to high airborne levels.
Benzene in food