Results on acrylamide levels in food from monitoring year 2008

Impact of Some Enzymatic Treatments on Acrylamide Content in Biscuits

Since its discovery in many heat-treatment foods in 2002, many efforts have been made to reduce acrylamide levels in foods. Methods to reduce acrylamide levels by reducing Maillard reaction products have been considered. However, baking cookies produces acrylamide, a carcinogenic compound. This study aimed to use a new quantitative index and formula for L-asparaginase, glucose oxidase, their 1:1 blending enzymes, baker’s yeast, and green tea powder (0.5 g/kg wheat flour) at a new proposed temperature of 37 °C for 30 min to reduce acrylamide production in biscuits and bakery products using new indicators such as asparagine reduction (%), the asparagine/acrylamide ratio, acrylamide reduction (%), and the asparagine/reducing sugar ratio. The highest acrylamide concentrations were reduced from 865 mg/kg in the blank sample (BT0) to 260 and 215 mg/kg in the mixed enzyme powder (1:1) (BT3)- and BT4-treated samples, respectively. The biscuit samples treated with 0.5 g/kg L-asparaginase reduced the acrylamide levels by approximately 67.63%, while the BT3 samples showed acrylamide levels of 69.94% and asparagine levels of 68.75% and 47%, respectively, compared with percentage in the untreated sample (blank), 95%. This percentage was 54.16% for the BT4 samples. The results showed that acrylamide was formed during baking, and all treatment samples inhibited its formation, making it possible to produce foods with low levels of acrylamide in starchy foods in the food industry at 37 °C for 30 min and preserving the quality and nutritional value of the final product. It can be used as a specialty food or functional food and protects school-agechildren, as well as youth on campus, from approximately 70–80% of their daily intake of acrylamide.

Detection of Acrylamide in Foodstuffs by Nanobody-Based Immunoassays

Acrylamide is toxic aliphatic amide formed via the Maillard reaction between asparagine and reducing sugars during thermal processing of food. Herein, a specific nanobody termed Nb-7E against the acrylamide derivative xanthyl acrylamide (XAA) was isolated from an immunized phage display library and confirmed to be able to detect acrylamide. First, an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) was established for acrylamide with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.089 μg/mL and working range from 0.23 to 5.6 μg/mL. Furthermore, an enhanced electrochemical immunoassay (ECIA) was developed based on the optimized reaction conditions. The LOD was as low as 0.033 μg/mL, threefold improved compared to that of ic-ELISA, and a wider linear detection range from 0.39 to 50.0 μg/mL was achieved. The average recoveries ranged from 88.29 to 111.76% in spiked baked biscuits and potato crisps. Finally, the analytical performance of the ECIA was validated by standard ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS).

Acrylamide in widely consumed foods - a review

Acrylamide (AA) is considered genotoxic, neurotoxic and a 'probable human carcinogen'. It is included in group 2 A of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The formation of AA occurs when starch-based foods are subjected to temperatures higher than 120 °C in an atmosphere with very low water content. The aim of this review is to shed light on the toxicological aspects of AA, showing its regulatory evolution, and describing the most interesting mitigation techniques for each food category involved, with a focus on compliance with EU legislation in the various classes of consumer products of industrial origin in Europe.

Progress on reducing acrylamide levels in potato crisps in Europe, 2002 to 2019

European Snacks Association (ESA) data on acrylamide in potato crisps from 2002 to 2019 (99704 observations) were analysed. Acrylamide levels have plateaued since 2011, although the lowest mean so far was attained in 2018 at 353 ± 2.7 ng g^-1: a 54% reduction since 2002. The 85^th, 90^th and 95^th quantiles did show evidence of continued downward progress, the 90^th quantile being lower than the 750 ng g^-1 European Benchmark Level from 2017 to 2019. A smaller dataset from the European Food Safety Authority (2124 observations) for 2011-2018 was also analysed. The yearly means were higher than those of the ESA data but showed a fall in average acrylamide from 715 ± 40.5 ng g^-1 in 2015 to 505 ± 28.5 ng g^-1 in 2018, as well as steep falls in the 85^th, 90^th and 95^th quantiles. Nevertheless, even the 85^th quantile remained above the 750 ng g^-1 Benchmark Level. The ESA data showed a reduction in the proportion of samples with acrylamide exceeding 750 ng g^-1, from over 40% in 2002 to 7.75% in 2019. Seasonality was evident, with highest acrylamide levels from November to May. Crisp type had little effect except that thicker types had a higher proportion of samples containing >750 ng g^-1 acrylamide. Analysis of the region of origin in Europe of the final product revealed improvements in the east and north. Geographical factors combined with seasonality continued to be problematic but was also an aspect in which progress was most evident. The findings show that improvements have been made in reducing the number of samples with very high levels of acrylamide, but do not suggest that mean acrylamide levels could be reduced substantially below where they have been since 2011, or that levels could be kept consistently below the current Benchmark Level.

Acrylamide in food: Progress in and prospects for genetic and agronomic solutions

Acrylamide is a processing contaminant and Group 2a carcinogen that was discovered in foodstuffs in 2002. Its presence in a range of popular foods has become one of the most difficult problems facing the food industry and its supply chain. Wheat, rye and potato products are major sources of dietary acrylamide, with biscuits, breakfast cereals, bread (particularly toasted), crispbread, batter, cakes, pies, French fries, crisps and snack products all affected. Here we briefly review the history of the issue, detection methods, the levels of acrylamide in popular foods and the risk that dietary acrylamide poses to human health. The pathways for acrylamide formation from free (non-protein) asparagine are described, including the role of reducing sugars such as glucose, fructose and maltose and the Maillard reaction. The evolving regulatory situation in the European Union and elsewhere is discussed, noting that food businesses and their suppliers must plan to comply not only with current regulations but with possible future regulatory scenarios. The main focus of the review is on the genetic and agronomic approaches being developed to reduce the acrylamide-forming potential of potatoes and cereals and these are described in detail, including variety selection, plant breeding, biotechnology and crop management. Obvious targets for genetic interventions include asparagine synthetase genes, and the asparagine synthetase gene families of different crop species are compared. Current knowledge on crop management best practice is described, including maintaining optimum storage conditions for potatoes and ensuring sulphur sufficiency and disease control for wheat.

Acrylamide content and antioxidant capacity in thermally processed fruit products

Acrylamide as a known processing contaminant was determined in various heat-treated plum products purchased from a local market using LC/ESI-MS-MS. The highest level of acrylamide in the range up to 60 μg/kg was detected in a plum stew known as a "povidla", and in prunes, respectively. These products typically undergo intensive heat treatment that may take from several hours to days. Using a fruit dehydrator in home production of prunes, a low level of acrylamide under LOQ (15 μg/kg) was detected in comparison to most commercial products. Only in one of the prune samples from the market was the acrylamide content near to LOQ. The highest content of acrylamide (46 μg/kg) was detected in the Slovak sample of prune originated in Nitra region. High acrylamide content, in the range from 23 to 45 μg/kg, was observed in prunes from South America. In the rest of analysed heat-treated plum products such as plum juice, plum compote or baby food with plum puree, acrylamide was not detected due to moderate conditions during thermal processing: temperature below 120 °C and a shorter time of thermal exposure. The total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of prunes were analysed using a UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer and an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Home-prepared prunes were characterized by the highest content of phenolics (4780 mg GAE/kg) and antioxidant capacity (14.6 mmol TEAC/kg). Commercial samples of prunes reached phenolics in the range from 1619 to 3461 mg GAE /kg, and antioxidant capacity was observed between 6.1 and 12.1 mmol TEAC/kg. Antioxidant capacity of prunes strongly correlated with total phenolic content and yellow and red colours measured in a CIELab system. However, no significant correlation between the acrylamide and antioxidative or organoleptic properties of prunes was observed. Moreover, it was noticed that bio production of plums did not demonstrate any positive impact on final acrylamide content or antioxidant capacity in comparison to conventional technology.

Application of the BRAFO tiered approach for benefit-risk assessment to case studies on heat processing contaminants

The aim of the European Funded Project BRAFO (benefit-risk analysis of foods) project was to develop a framework that allows quantitative comparison of human health risks and benefits of foods based on a common scale of measurement. This publication describes the application of the BRAFO methodology to three different case studies: the formation of acrylamide in potato and cereal based products, the formation of benzo(a)pyrene through smoking and grilling of meat and fish and the heat-treatment of milk. Reference, alternative scenario and target population represented the basic structure to test the tiers of the framework. Various intervention methods intended to reduce acrylamide in potato and cereal products were evaluated against the historical production methods. In conclusion the benefits of the acrylamide-reducing measures were considered prevailing. For benzo(a)pyrene, three illustrated alternative scenarios were evaluated against the most common smoking practice. The alternative scenarios were assessed as delivering benefits, introducing only minimal potential risks. Similar considerations were made for heat treatment of milk where the comparison of the microbiological effects of heat treatment, physico-chemical changes of milk constituents with positive and negative health effects was assessed. In general, based on data available, benefits of the heat treatment were outweighing any risks.

Dietary acrylamide intake and risk of breast cancer in the UK women's cohort

BACKGROUND

No studies to date have demonstrated a clear association with breast cancer risk and dietary exposure to acrylamide.

METHODS

A 217-item food frequency questionnaire was used to estimate dietary acrylamide intake in 33,731 women aged 35-69 years from the UK Women's Cohort Study followed up for a median of 11 years.

RESULTS

In all, 1084 incident breast cancers occurred during follow-up. There was no evidence of an overall association between acrylamide intake and breast cancer (hazard ratio=1.08 per 10 μg day(-1), 95% CI: 0.98-1.18, P(trend)=0.1). There was a suggestion of a possible weak positive association between dietary acrylamide intake and premenopausal breast cancer after adjustment for potential confounders (hazard ratio=1.2, 95% CI: 1.0-1.3, P(trend)=0.008). There was no suggestion of any association for postmenopausal breast cancer (hazard ratio=1.0, 95% CI: 0.9-1.1, P(trend)=0.99).

CONCLUSIONS

There is no evidence of an association between dietary acrylamide intake and breast cancer. A weak association may exist with premenopausal breast cancer, but requires further investigation.