Food Product Benzen [mg kg-1] Benzoic acid [mg kg-1] Before cooking After cooking A ND 994 968 B ND ND ND C ND 1609 1460 D ND 921 887 E ND 1351 1320 F ND 1716 1620 G ND ND ND H ND ND ND I ND ND ND J ND 83 105 ND – Not Detected

Table 1: Quantification of benzoic acid and benzene in red hot pepper products processed traditionally.