To understand the content of benzo(a)pyrene in commercially available edible vegetable oils in a city of Guangxi.

A total of 113 samples of edible vegetable oils sold in large supermarkets and farmers’ markets across 8 counties (districts, cities) of a certain city were collected from 2024 to 2025. Molecular imprinting solid-phase extraction-high performance liquid chromatography was used to detect the content of BaP. The study analyzed the impact of the type of vegetable oil, processing methods and packaging methods on the BaP content in edible vegetable oils.

The detection rate of BaP in the 113 commercially available edible vegetable oils sampled was 69.0%, with detection ranges of 0.21–5.60 μg/kg and an average of 0.56 μg/kg, all meeting GB 2762—2022 National food safety standard-Limits of contaminants in foods. However, 5 samples exceeded European Union standards,accounting for 4.4% of the total sample population. BaP levels varied significantly among different edible vegetable oils depending on brand, production process and packaging. The detection rates, ranked from highest to lowest, were:Blended oil>peanut oil>corn oil>camellia seed oil>rapeseed oil. The average content, ranked from highest to lowest,was: Camellia seed oil>blended oil>peanut oil>corn oil>rapeseed oil.

The study find that the BaP content in commercially available bulk camellia seed oil is significantly higher than that in other types of edible vegetable oils, highlighting the high-risk characteristics of small-scale workshop-pressed oils and bulk oils. This finding warrants heightened attention from regulatory authorities, who should strengthen oversight of commercially available edible vegetable oils, enhance food safety awareness campaigns, improve monitoring efforts, facilitate public supervision channels and continuously reinforce food safety safeguards.