Acrylamide in potato crisp—the effect of raw material and processing

Reducing sugars and free amino acids were analysed in slices from three potato cultivars before and after blanching (0-3 min). The potato crisps were deep fried at 185 °C for different times (3-8.5 min), and analysed for the concentration of acrylamide (AA) and moisture. Potato cultivar and the temperature during processing were important parameters for AA formation in potato crisps. The amount increased with an increase in the processing time. Blanching before deep-frying reduced the concentration of free asparagine and reducing sugar in the raw material. We found no effect of blanching as pretreatment on the concentration of AA in the potato crisps. Any relationship was not detected between the levels of asparagine in the different cultivars, before and after blanching, and the formation of AA in the crisp products. However, it was shown that the content of reducing sugars determined the level of AA after frying.     

Ultrasonic-assisted leaching of glucose and fructose as an alternative mitigation technology of acrylamide and 5- hydroxymethylfurfural in potato chips

The effect of ultrasound (480 W, 40 kHz) on the leaching of reducing sugars during the water soaking of potatoes slices (60, 70 and 80 °C- 1, 8 and 15 min) was investigated to reduce the formation of acrylamide (AA) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in potato chips.Ultrasound (US) influenced abruptly the reducing sugar leaching during the first 15 min, significantly increasing their extraction rate (glucose: 60%, fructose: 30%) at all evaluated temperatures. When potato slices were treated with US, the formation of AA (~95%) and 5-HMF (~96%) were reduced significantly after frying. Although AA content did not correlate with glucose and fructose concentrations, 5-HMF did (r²: 0.80 and 0.83, respectively), probably because reducing sugars are their main precursors. The AA and 5-HMF concentrations of potato chips presented good correlation coefficient (r²:0.76), suggesting the use of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural as an acrylamide indicator for potato chips.     

Effect of frying oil quality and TBHQ on the shelf-life of potato crisps

Three different systems were used for the evaluation of the effect of frying oil quality and tertiarybutyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) on the shelf-life of fried potato crisps. Batches of potato slices were fried for 4 min at 30 min intervals over a period of 5 h day^?1 for eight consecutive days in refined, bleached and deodorised palm olein (RBD olein) without antioxidant (system 1); RBD containing 200 μg g^?1 TBHQ at the start of the experiment (system 2) and RBD olein which had TBHQ topped up to a level of 200 μg g^?1 at the start of each frying day (system 3). Sensory evaluation of crisps showed that there is an initial rapid decrease in shelf-life with increase in fry number in all systems. There was only a comparatively smaller effect on shelf-life with increase in fry number in later fryings. When the shelf-life of crisps was related to the quality of oil in the frying medium, it was found that the shelf-life of the product is only slightly affected when the oil had deteriorated beyond the acceptable limit of quality of frying oil, where the acceptable limit was taken as 27-30% polar components and 1–2 mg potassium hydroxide g^?1 oil. TBHQ does have a protective carry-through effect. The protective effect is more pronounced when TBHQ is topped up to a level of 200 μg g^?1 at the beginning of each frying day.     

Optimization of the blanching process to reduce acrylamide in fried potatoes

A central composite design was used to study the effect of blanching time and temperature on the extraction of reducing sugars from potato strips and slices. After frying, the impact of both factors on the acrylamide content in French fries and potato crisps was evaluated. Acrylamide could be lowered more efficiently in potato crisps compared to French fries, due to a more pronounced extraction of sugars from potato slices upon blanching. In both products, blanching temperature was the main influencing factor for sugar extraction and subsequent acrylamide mitigation. Blanching at temperatures of about 70 °C for a short period of time (about 10 min) was more efficient compared to blanching at lower temperatures, which appeared more time-consuming. However, the extraction efficiency of reducing sugars was over 10% lower when the potato cuts were blanched in water which was previously used for blanching, leading to over 10% less reduction in the final acrylamide content.     

Important factors to consider for acrylamide mitigation in potato crisps using pulsed electric fields

This preliminary study aimed to compare the application of pulsed electric field (PEF) with a traditional blanching as pre-treatments before frying for the mitigation of acrylamide content in potato crisps.Measuring the degree of cell disintegration index (p_o) and the changes in water electrical conductivity during washing of potato slices, PEF protocol and sample preparation scheme were optimized. Peeled potato slices (thickness 1.5 ± 0.2 mm) were subjected to PEF (1.5 kV/cm, pulse duration 10 μs, total treatment time 10 ms, pulse frequency 100 Hz) and to blanching (85 °C for 3.5 min) pre-treatments and then to washing in water, evaluating the reduction of acrylamide precursors (reducing sugars and free asparagine). After frying (175 °C, 3 min), product quality, in terms of colour, texture and acrylamide content were evaluated. Results showed that PEF promoted acrylamide precursors leaching followed by a reduction of the final acrylamide content of around 30%, significantly higher if compared to the reduction obtained with blanching, with only slight modifications of the final quality of the product, in terms of colour and texture.Industrial relevanceThe Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 of 20 November 2017 has introduced new benchmark levels and mitigation strategies for the reduction of the presence of acrylamide in foods, directing food businesses to the research of measures to lower the acrylamide formation in foods. The actual industrial production process of fried potato crisps involves the use of many mitigation strategies, such as a blanching of raw potatoes. However, the traditional blanching treatment presents several practical drawbacks and leads to undesirable changes of the product quality. The application of PEF as a pre-treatment could reduce the acrylamide content in deep-fat fried potato crisps. This preliminary study gives important indications regarding the possibility of combining a PEF pre-treatment on raw potato slices with subsequent industrial processing steps for the production of potato crisps with low acrylamide concentration.     

Effect of innovative pre-treatments on the mitigation of acrylamide formation in potato chips

The aim of this research was to evaluate the reduction of acrylamide (AA) formation in potato chips applying innovative pre-treatments. Raw potato slices were subjected for 5 and 15 min to: dipping in water; dipping in Aureobasidium pullulans L1 yeast water suspension; dipping in water or in yeast water suspension after pulsed electric fields (PEF) in order to investigate a possible synergistic effect of pre-treatments. The raw potato samples were analysed for AA precursors and, after frying, for AA by using HPLC-MS/MS. In addition, the final potato chips main quality parameters were evaluated.Compared to untreated potato chips, yeast treatment promoted a reduction of AA formation mainly at the longest dipping time (15 min). PEF treatment followed by water dipping was the most effective in reducing AA for both the studied treatment times. The combination of PEF and yeast treatments led only a slight reduction of AA formation.Industrial relevanceThe Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 has established new acrylamide (AA) benchmark levels in different foods due to its negative classification as “probably carcinogenic to human”. For this reason, food industries are interested in developing different processing methods to reduce the AA formation and at the same time to maintain an acceptable quality of final products. Fried potatoes (French fries and chips) are the most vulnerable foods in terms of high content of AA formation, being rich in the main Maillard reaction substrates, such as asparagine and reducing sugars, and characterized by a high surface to volume ratio. Among the strategies recently suggested for the reduction of AA in potato chips, pulsed electric fields (PEF) and yeast pre-treatments are very promising, having the potentiality to reduce AA precursors in raw potato tissues. In this study the possibility to apply yeast and PEF pre-treatments on raw potato slices with suitable processing times for a possible industrial application were evaluated.     

Survey on acrylamide in roasted coffee and barley and in potato crisps sold in Italy by a LC–MS/MS method

ABSTRACT

A survey on the occurrence of acrylamide (AA) in roasted coffee, barley, and potato crisps was carried out using an intra-lab validated liquid chromatography (LC)–MS (mass spectrometry)/MS method. Over the years 2015–2016, 66 samples of coffee, 22 of roasted barley, and 22 of potato crisps were collected from retail outlets in Italy. AA was detected in almost all samples. In roasted coffee, the level exceeded 450 µg kg^?1, the limit recommended by the European Commission (EC), in 36.4% of the samples. In roasted barley, mean contamination was slightly lower than in coffee and no sample exceeded the EC limit of 2000 µg kg^?1. The AA contamination in potato crisps was remarkable. A percentage of 36.4 (n = 8) showed a value higher than the EC limit of 1000 µg kg^?1. Considering the average consumption of coffee and potato crisps by Italian people, AA exposure is significant and should be decreased.     

Reduction of acrylamide formation by vanadium salt in potato French fries and chips

The effects of vanadyl sulphate on the formation of acrylamide have been studied in fried potato products, such as French fries and chips. Acrylamide formation was inhibited by 30.3%, 53.3% and 89.3% when the sliced potato strips were soaked in 0.001, 0.01 and 0.1 M vanadyl sulphate (VOSO₄) solutions, respectively, for 60 min before frying. Moreover, 57.7%, 71.4% and 92.5% inhibition of acrylamide formation was observed when chips were soaked in the respective vanadyl sulphate solution before frying. In a separate model reaction, a solution containing an equimolar concentration of l-asparagine and d-glucose showed a significant inhibition of acrylamide formation when heated at 150 °C for 30 min in the presence of vanadyl sulphate (VOSO₄). The results indicate that the binding of VO²⁺ to asparagine and the decrease in the pH of the potato samples resulted in a significant reduction of acrylamide formation in fried potato products.     

Reduction of acrylamide formation by selected agents in fried potato crisps on industrial scale

Great interest and rapid research efforts on acrylamide in foods followed an announcement in April 2002 by the Swedish National Food Authority and the University of Stockholm. Reduction of acrylamide in high-temperature processing foods, including selection of the raw material and variation of processing parameters, etc. were extensive reported. In this research, effect of some agents on acrylamide formation was investigated. A glucose-asparagines reaction model system was used to test the effect of ferulic acid, catechin, CaCl₂, NaHSO₃, and l-cysteine on inhibition of acrylamide formation and three efficient inhibitors, NaHSO₃, CaCl₂ and l-cysteine were screened. The results showed that immersing of the fresh potato chips using different concentration of the agents greatly inhibited acrylamide formation in fried potato crisps, and the efficiency increased as their concentrations increased; among them, l-cysteine is the most efficient agent but CaCl₂ is most potential. Effects of these food additives on the texture of fried potato crisps were also studied. It was found that l-cysteine showed little effect on the texture of the crisps and CaCl₂ is regarded as the suitable choice because of its low price and the acceptable mouth feel of fried crisps treated by CaCl₂, although it increased the brittleness. Moreover, the application of CaCl₂ in industrial production of fried potato crisps was also studied. In the blanching process (deactivation process of enzymes at 85 °C), a computerized electrical conductivity detector was used to keep the concentration of CaCl₂ at constant and the result showed that immersion of potato slices in CaCl₂ solution at 5 g/L reduced acrylamide formation by more than 85% in fried crisps.Industrial relevanceThis research presents a technology to inhibit acrylamide formation in fried potato chips by immersion of fresh potato chips with some food additives. The approach suggested that cysteine and calcium chloride significantly decreased the content of acrylamide in fried potato chips and their concentrations could be kept constant by using a conductor as a detector.     

Acrylamide content and color development in fried potato strips

Acrylamide formation and changes in color of fried potato strips was investigated in relation to frying temperature and three treatments before frying. Potato strips (0.8 × 0.8 × 5 cm) of Bintje variety were fried at 150, 170 and 190 °C until reaching moisture contents of ∼40 g water/100 g (total basis). Prior to frying, potato strips were treated in one of the following ways: (i) immersed in distilled water for 0 min (control), 60 min and 120 min; (ii) blanched in hot water at six different time–temperature combinations (50 °C for 40 and 80 min; 70 °C for 10 and 45 min; 90 °C for 3 and 10 min); (iii) immersed in a citric acid solution of 10 g/L for an hour; (iv) immersed in a sodium pyrophosphate solution of 10 g/L for an hour. Acrylamide content and color was determined in the potato strips after frying. Immersed strips in water for 120 min showed a reduction of acrylamide formation of 33%, 21% and 27% at 150, 170 and 190 °C, respectively, when they were compared against the control. Potato strips blanched at 50 °C for 80 min had the lowest acrylamide content when compared against strips blanched at different conditions and fried at the same temperature (135, 327 and 564 μm acrylamide/kg for 150, 170 and 190 °C, respectively). Potato strip immersion in citric acid solution of 10 g/L reduced much more the acrylamide formation after frying than the strip immersion in sodium pyrophosphate solution of 10 g/L (53% vs. 17%, respectively, average values for the three temperatures tested). Acrylamide formation decreased dramatically as the frying temperature decreased from 190 to 150 °C for all the pre-treatments tested. Color represented by the parameters L* and a* showed high correlations (r² of 0.79 and 0.83, respectively) with French fry acrylamide content.     

Structural changes and shrinkage of potato during frying

Summary Light microscopy was used to study changes in cell size, blister formation and crust evolution during potato frying. Frying experiments with both French fries and crisps of different thickness (1–5 mm) were performed at temperatures of 140 and 180 °C. Thickness, volume and density changes were also measured. The formation of crust in French fries starts after the potato surface reached approximately 103 °C, and then the crust thickness increased linearly with the square root of frying time, this increase being faster at 180 °C. The potato volume decreased during frying, although in the late stages the volume may increase because of oil uptake and cell separation caused by entrapped water vapour. Shrinkage was adequately described by the Weibull model with a residual value, with shrinkage rate increasing with temperature and decreasing with potato thickness. The residual volume was not affected by temperature (65% for French fries and 59–30 for crisps, depending on thickness). Volume appeared to decrease mainly as the result of water loss, except for very low water content, and thus potato density changes were very small.     

几种添加剂对油炸薯片中丙烯酰胺产生的抑制作用

采用葡萄糖-天冬酰胺模拟反应体系研究了阿魏酸、儿茶素、CaCl2、NaHSO3、VC、L-半胱氨酸等物质对丙烯酰胺产生的抑制作用,筛选出了抑制效果良好的三种添加剂NaHSO3、CaCl2和半胱氨酸。分别用0.1%、0.3%和0.5%的NaHSO3、CaCl2和半胱氨酸在油炸前浸泡土豆片,发现它们都能显著减少油炸土豆片中丙烯酰胺的产生;当半胱氨酸和CaCl2浓度分别为0.3%和0.5%时,油炸薯片中检测不到丙烯酰胺。     

Acrylamide reduction in potato chips by using commercial asparaginase in combination with conventional blanching

In this research acrylamide reduction in potato chips was investigated in relation to blanching and asparaginase immersion treatments before final frying. Potatoes slices (Verdi variety, diameter: 40 mm, thickness: 2.0 mm) were fried at 170 °C for 5 min (final moisture content of ∼2.0 g/100 g). Prior to frying, potato slices were treated in one of the following ways: (i) Rinsing in distilled water (control I); (ii) Rinsing in distilled water plus blanching in hot water at 85 °C for 3.5 min; (iii) Rinsing in distilled water plus immersion in an asparaginase solution (10000 ASNU/L) at 50 °C for 20 min; (iv) Rinsing in distilled water plus blanching in hot water at 85 °C for 3.5 min plus immersion in an asparaginase solution (10000 ASNU/L) at 50 °C for 20 min; (v) Rinsing in distilled water plus blanching in hot water at 85 °C for 3.5 min plus immersion in distilled water at 50 °C for 20 min (control II). Blanching in hot water (ii) was almost as effective as asparaginase potato immersion (iii) in order to diminish acrylamide formation in potato chips (acrylamide reduction was ∼17% of the initial acrylamide concentration). When potato slices were blanched before asparaginase immersion, the acrylamide content of the resultant potato chips was reduced considerably by almost 90%. We have demonstrated that blanching of potato slices plus asparaginase treatment is an effective combination for acrylamide mitigation during frying. It seems to be that blanching provokes changes in the microstructure of potato tissue leading to an easier and more effective diffusion of asparaginase.     

Determination of acrylamide content of food products in Korea

Acrylamide (AA) contents of commercial market‐purchased foods and of traditional home‐cooked Korean foods were investigated. The effect of cooking method on AA amount in potatoes was also studied. AA contents of roasted barley and corn ranged from 116 to 449 µg kg^?1 and of chips ranged from 12 to 3241 µg kg^?1, representing a very high variation in AA contents among tested samples. Lower levels of AA were found in wheat flour chips compared to potato chips. AA contents of ramen noodles were below 37 µg kg^?1, whether they contained potato starch or not. The AA contents of Korean home‐cooked oil fried foods increased in the following order: yakwa < whole deep‐fried sea tangle < ground and deep‐fried lotus root < ground and pan‐fried lotus root < French fries < ground and pan‐fried potato. Lotus root and garlic also had the potential to produce AA during cooking. Pre‐treatment such as grinding, boiling, freezing and thawing increased the AA formation in oil‐fried potato. Temperature was more influential than time on AA formation during deep‐oil frying. Removing water‐soluble fractions reduced AA content of cooked potatoes. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

3种添加剂对油炸薯片丙烯酰胺产生和质构的影响

在前期研究基础上,探讨了3种添加剂NaHSO3、CaCl2和半胱氨酸浸泡土豆片对油炸薯片中丙烯酰胺形成的抑制作用,同时采用白度仪和质构仪测定了油炸薯片的白度和脆度,发现半胱氨酸和CaCl2能有效地抑制丙烯酰胺形成且对薯片色泽和脆度影响较小,是两种具有应用前景的丙烯酰胺抑制剂。     

Effect of superheated steam prefrying treatment on the quality of potato chips

Superheated steam drying (SSD) was used as a prefrying treatment prior to deep‐fat frying for potato slices. The effect of SSD at 130, 150 or 180 °C and steam velocity of 2.0 m s^?1 on the fat uptake, colour and texture of fried potato chips was evaluated; microstructure and degree of starch gelatinization were also evaluated to help explain the fat uptake results. SSD and frying yielded potato chips with the fat content from 0.263 ± 0.002 to 0.304 ± 0.002 kg kg^?1 (d.b.), while frying without SSD led to chips with the fat content as high as 0.359 ± 0.003 kg kg^?1 (d.b.). SSD did not promote starch gelatinization. Lower fat uptake was correlated to modified surface structure and lower moisture content of potato slices prior to frying. Frying with/without SSD pretreatment yielded potato chips of similar hardness, crispness and lightness. On the other hand, SSD significantly increased redness and yellowness of the fried chips.     

Color changes and acrylamide formation in fried potato slices

The objective of this work was to study the kinetics of browning during deep-fat frying of blanched and unblanched potato chips by using the dynamic method and to find a relationship between browning development and acrylamide formation. Prior to frying, potato slices were blanched in hot water at 85 °C for 3.5 min. Unblanched slices were used as the control. Control and blanched potato slices (Panda variety, diameter: 37 mm, width: 2.2 mm) were fried at 120, 150 and 180 °C until reaching moisture contents of ∼1.8% (total basis) and their acrylamide content and final color were measured. Color changes were recorded at different sampling times during frying at the three mentioned temperatures using the chromatic redness parameter a¹. Experimental data of surface temperature, moisture content and color change in potato chips during frying were fit to empirical relationships, with correlation coefficients greater than 90%. A first-order rate equation was used to model the kinetics of color change. In all cases, the Arrhenius activation energy decreases alongside with decreasing chip moisture content. Blanching reduced acrylamide formation in potato chips in ∼64% (average value) in comparison with control chips at the three oil temperatures tested. For the two pre-treatments studied, average acrylamide content increased ∼58 times as the frying temperature increased from 120 to 180 °C. There was a linear correlation between acrylamide content of potato chips and their color represented by the redness component a¹ in the range of the temperatures studied.     

Effects of virgin coconut oil on the physicochemical,morphological and antibacterial properties of potato starch-based biodegradable films

This study investigated the effects of adding different concentrations of virgin coconut oil (VCO) on the optical, mechanical, thermodynamic and antimicrobial properties, as well as water vapour permeability and morphology of potato starch-based biodegradable films. Increasing VCO concentrations caused a rise in the light transmittance of the films from 2.13 to 4.79 mm⁻¹ and a decrease in water vapour transmittance from 6.77 to 2.12 (10⁻⁵ GPa⁻¹ h⁻¹ m⁻¹). At a VCO concentration of 14 wt% (based on potato starch), the tensile strength reached its highest value (19.98 MPa). Scanning electron microscopy showed that the surface of the film became smoother as VCO concentration increased. The addition of VCO inhibited the growth of Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. In conclusion, VCO supplementation improved the mechanical, antibacterial and water barrier properties of starch-based films. These results could expand the scope of the application of starch-based films in food packaging.     

Comparative evaluation of conventional and advanced frying methods on hydroxymethylfurfural and acrylamide formation in French fries

In this study, deep fat frying, microwave frying, air frying, and vacuum frying processes were used to mitigate acrylamide (AA) and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) formation during the frying of French fries. The highest reduction of AA and HMF range was found in vacuum frying (61.42–81.14%), followed by air frying (59.2–78.7%), as compared to deep fat frying and microwave frying. Both these method samples also showed significantly (p < 0.05) lower browning index (BI) and CIE a* values. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to visualize the effects of the different frying methods on AA and HMF content. Vacuum frying and air frying were found to be alternative frying technologies to minimize AA and HMF content in French fries.     

Effect of green tea extract and microwave pre-cooking on the formation of acrylamide in fried chicken drumsticks and chicken wings

Since 2002, it has been well-known that carbohydrate-rich foods have a high level of acrylamide (AA). Some researchers have drawn attention on the formation of AA in coated and fried chicken meat products in recent years. From this viewpoint, the purpose of the present study was to mitigate acrylamide formation in fried chicken drumsticks (CDs) and chicken wings (CWs) using green tea extract (GTE) alone or combined with microwave pre-cooking (MPC) by decrease frying time. In brief, CDs and CWs marinated for one day were divided into eight groups. Four of those were first covered with batter and breading, including 0%, 0.5%, 1.5% and 3% GTE and deep fried in fat for 8.5 min for CDs and 3.5 min for CWs at 175 °C and 8 psi of pressure. In the second step, the remainder of the marinated CDs and CWs were subjected to MPC for 7 min and 5 min, respectively. Then, they were covered with batter and breading including 0%, 0.5%, 1.5% and 3% GTE and deep fried in fat for 5.5 min for CDs and 2.5 min for CWs at 175 °C and 8 psi for pressure. With increasing levels of GTE, the AA concentration decreased gradually in CDs and CWs. In addition, MPC also decreased AA formation in CWs due to the shorter frying time. Moreover, MPC was more efficient at reducing AA formation in CWs when it was combined with GTE. A lighter and more yellowish color was measured in CDs as a consequence of the shorter frying time. It is crucial to state that the incorporation of GTE into the breading or MPC did not negatively affect the sensory properties of CDs and CWs, while it reduced AA formation. In conclusion, it can be stated that GTE alone or combined with MPC is an effective and practical mitigation strategy for AA formation.