Barbecue season is here, and with it comes seasonal warnings about potential links between grilling and cancer. With just a little work, barbecuers can mitigate the threat. Take the safe grilling quiz.

1. Heterocyclic amines (HCA) form on meat (including beef, pork, poultry or lamb) when this high-protein muscle compound in the meat is mixed with amino acids under intense heat:

a) creatine

b) synthetic growth hormone

c) estrogen

2. What condition has HCA been scientifically proven to induce?

a) hyperactivity in lab rats

b) atherosclerosis in lab rats

c) cancer in lab rats

3. True or false: When cooked at high temperature, the proteins in eggs and tofu do not result in HCA formation.

4. HCAs are concentrated in which part of the meat?

a) the few millimeters farthest from the heat source

b) the few millimeters around the edges of the meat

c) the few millimeters closest to the heat source

5. According to Lawrence Livermore Laboratory tests, meat fried for 10 minutes at 450 degrees contains how much more HCA than meat fried at the same temperature for four minutes:

a) twice as much

b) 4.7 times as much

c) 20 times as much

6. True or false: Another cancer-causing chemical, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, results from smoke wafting from burning coals and flareups from dripping fat.

Answers: 1: a; 2: c; 3: false; 4: c; 5: c; 6: true

Sources: Harvard Health Letter; nutritiondata.com/ndblog

McClatchy News Service

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