There's been research on whether grilled meat is good for you or not. Now, South African academics have tackled the question of braai smoke.
The research was done at North-West University.
Dr Pieter van Zyl from the Faculty of Natural Science said in a press release that although the term "braai" is an Afrikaans word, it transcends ethnic barriers and is practised by most South Africans.
"This form of cooking is not just a means to an end, but is an important social activity."
Van Zyl says that braai meat is also sold by many vendors at street markets. "Wood and charcoal are also commonly burned in many households for cooking and space heating, especially in semi-formal and informal settlements," he notes.
In order to assess the impacts of a typical South African braai, a comprehensive analysis of the spreading of atmospheric smoke and gas was conducted at the Welgegund atmospheric measurement station at university.
The press release says the station is considered to be one of the most comprehensively equipped and advanced scientific atmospheric monitoring stations in Africa.
In general, the results indicated that for a recreational braai no significant health-related risks occur due to the relatively short exposure period. But for people who braai a lot, the news is less happy: the release says health-related risks increase significantly if there are longer exposure periods.
The detailed technical results indicate, among other things, that:
* the gases sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide increased significantly, while ozonedid not increase notably during a braai.
* aromatic and alkane volatile organic compounds were also found, with benzene exceeding the South African one-year ambient air quality limit.
* lead concentration was higher than the annual ambient air quality limit.
IOL, adapted from a press release