HOW TO REDUCE ACRYLAMIDE IN YOUR FOODS

By Pete Maletto

What is acrylamide? Acrylamide is a carcinogen found in fried (mostly potato) or baked goods and it is produced by the reaction between asparagine and reducing sugars (fructose, glucose, etc.) or reactive carbonyls in starchy foods like french fries, potato chips or breads. The toxicological effects of acrylamide are well known. It causes DNA damage (which causes mutagenic type cancers) and acrylamide at high doses can effect the neurological and reproductive systems in the body.

Acrylamide turns up in all kinds of tasty foods, including french fries, potato chips, breakfast cereals, and even cookies and crackers. But it's difficult for consumers to figure out how much acrylamide is in a particular meal or snack.

Nobody puts acrylamide in food. The chemical carcinogen is a natural byproduct of cooking starchy food at high temperature.

When foodstuffs were analyzed at the Swedish National Food Administration (NFA) in Uppsala and at AnalyCen AB in Lidköping it was found that some of them, which had been heated, could contain relatively high levels of the substance acrylamide. In total, more than 100 food samples have been analyzed at the NFA. The food survey comprised bread, pasta, rice, fish, sausages, meat (beef and pork), biscuits, cookies, breakfast cereals and beer, etc as well as some ready-made dishes such as pizza and products based on potato, corn maize and flour.

The levels of acrylamide varied considerably between single foodstuffs within food groups, but potato crisps and french fries generally contained high levels compared to many other food groups. The average acrylamide content in a five ounce bag of potato chips is approximately 1000 microgram/kg and in french fries approximately 500 microgram/kg. Other food groups which may contain low as well as high levels of acrylamide are crisp bread, breakfast cereals, other fried potato products, biscuits, cookies and snacks, e.g. popcorn (it makes me sad as well).

WE REDUCE ACRYLAMIDE THROUGH RESEARCH, AND INNOVATION

Finding a way to reduce acrylamide is important to me and designing foods that do not poison the public are even more important. Over 10 years ago I was looking into a solution to reduce acrylamide in foods and found the answer was antioxidants.

The higher the levels of antioxidants used in foods such as vitamin E tocopherols, rosemary and ascorbic acid (i.e. natural preservatives) in the foods, the lower the levels of acrylamide would be. When I reduced carbohydrates and replaced it with proteins that brought down levels of acrylamide as well. I have done this with a fried corn tortilla chip and have had near zero acrylamide amounts in the final product.

Our latest innovations to reduce acrylamide in foods are now the usage of phytonutrients which have a functional effect in foods. Despite its high tech ring, "phytonutrients" (from the Greek phyton for "plant") simply means a "nutrient from a plant." These nutrients contain chemicals that naturally fight carcinogens and harmful fat oxidation.

In a recent report, researchers from Zhejiang University Department of Food Science and Nutrition, claim that by immersing the potato crisps and french fries in bamboo leaf extract so that the extract penetrated into the potato matrix prior to the frying process, could reduce the formation of this cancer-causing compound.

The extract, with the main components characterized as flavonoids, lactones and phenolic acids, is listed as a food ingredient in China, and permitted as an additive in a range of food products, including fish and meat products, edible oils, and puffed food.

"Our results showed that nearly 74.1 per cent and 76.1 per cent of acrylamide in potato crisps and French fries was reduced when the AOB addition ratio was 0.1 per cent and 0.01 per cent (w/w), respectively," said Zhang.

The researchers also investigated if the bamboo leaf extract affected the sensory properties of the resultant potato products by recruiting 30 untrained volunteers to taste the products in a double blind manner. They report that the crispness and flavour of both with the bamboo extract were not significantly different to normal potato matrixes when the bamboo lead extract addition ratio was less than 0.5 per cent.

The study, funded by the National Natural Science Foundation Council of China, concluded: "This study could be regarded as a pioneer finding of an effective, simple, and practical way to reduce acrylamide formation in potato-based foods by natural antioxidants."

USING AMINO ACIDS TO REDUCE ACRYLAMIDE IN FRIED FOODS

While using antioxidants is a good way to reduce acryamide, another method we are currently studying is the addition of amino acids in the formulation. At the School of Agricultural Biotechnology and Center for Agricultural Biomaterials, College of Agriculture in Seoul, a study was formed to develop commercial methods for reducing the acrylamide content in processed foods and apply them to commercial snacks.

The formation of acrylamide in fried foods was found to depend on the composition of raw materials as well as the frying time and temperature. In potato chips, acrylamide was rapidly formed at over 160 °C, with the amount proportional to the heating duration and temperature. Free amino acids were used to reduce acrylamide, with lysine, glycine, and cysteine having the greatest effects in the aqueous system.

Lysine and glycine were effective at inhibiting the formation of acrylamide in wheat-flour snacks. In potato snacks, the addition of 0.5% glycine to pallets reduced acrylamide by more than 70%. Soaking potato slices in a 3% solution of either lysine or glycine reduced the formation of acrylamide by more than 80% in potato chips fried for 1.5 min at 185 °C. These results indicate that the addition of certain amino acids by soaking the uncooked products in appropriate solutions is an effective way of reducing acrylamide in processed foods.

At the Center for Science in the Public Interest, research is already underway and they recently began surveying manufacturers of 30 products. None provided information on how much acrylamide is currently in their products, this is bad for manufacturers.

Now the group wants the government to publish more data on acrylamide in major brands. The most recent FDA data on brand-name foods is more than two years old.

As a food scientist (and a responsible one) many foods being manufactured and consumed are a major concern for me. Reducing acrylamide is just one of many big steps in formulating healthy foods and snacks that help protect the consumer, while creating pristine brand image and loyalty for your company.

Do you have possible acrylamide amounts in the foods you manufacture? Give me a call and maybe we can use some of my methods to help you get one step closer to producing healthier foods for your consumer.