Effects of cooking methods on the elements concentrations in meats: Implications for dietary risk assessment

• The Air Fryer cooking method decreased cadmium and lead in meat • The type of cooking significantly affects the concentration of toxic metals and essential elements • Meat cooked in the Air Fryer had the lowest daily intake of toxic chemicals • This study offers new insights into the health benefits of using an air fryer The process of cooking meat induces chemical and physical transformations, including decreasing the contents of volatile compounds and water loss, thereby concentrating less-volatile compounds. Regarding chemical elements (CEs), the literature has primarily focused on their concentrations in raw meat. Thus, studies investigating changes in CE concentrations in cooked meat, particularly those using modern techniques such as air frying, are limited. In this study, 14 CEs (As, Cd, Pb, Hg, Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, K, Se, Na, P, and Zn) in beef, fish, and shrimp meats before and after cooking using muffling, roasting, or air frying were examined for a health risk assessment. Hg concentrations were consistently below the instrumental limit of quantification across all samples and cooking methods. The air-frying method demonstrated the highest decreases in concentrations of potentially toxic elements. For example, As, Cd, and Pb concentrations decreased by 40%–80%. Essential elements (EEs), such as Cu and Zn, also decreased in concentration by 20%–50%. The estimated daily intake and hazard index values revealed that consuming air-fried meat samples reduced the non-carcinogenic risk by up to 76% compared to that for raw samples. Thus, considering the cooking method is essential for food safety evaluations and accurate dietary risk assessments. Moreover, among all the tested cooking methods, air frying emerged as the most effective in minimizing toxic exposure without compromising the availability of EEs. This study contributes to understanding the factors affecting food safety is essential for improving global public health