Strategies and methods for reducing the level of acrylamide in foods that have gone through the cooking
There are several strategies that are used to reduce the formation of acrylamide in the potato chips, which have been found by considering the markets, thus the industry and the consumer’s perspectives. Due to the public awareness of acrylamide’s increased presence in the chips and crips, there has been a rise in the research on the best ways and methods of reducing acrylamide in the fries. Due to the effects of acrylamide on human consumption, a wide range of actors, including the national food and safety authorities, the academic groups, and the food manufacturers, have come to a better understanding of the healthy methods of reducing the amount and level of acrylamide in foods.
The strategies that have been found useful include controlling and managing cooking temperatures and cooking the food. Avoiding a very high heat of about which is more than 180-190C during frying. And also, temperatures above 250C during the baking will help in reducing the acrylamide. Studies and research have shown that the significant factor for the formation of acrylamide in the potato chips is the frying temperatures and time is taken to fry chips, whereby when temperatures are very high which is about 180-190C, there will be an increased in the level of acrylamide when the frying is done. This makes the best reason why the acrylamide forms on the surface of the potatoes. Again the time taken during the baking process will also determine the amount of acrylamide, so in order to reduce the formation of acrylamide, the minimal time should be used for the baking process.
The selection of suitable frying oil has also been found to be another strategy that is used to reduce the formation of acrylamide. Studies show that when different frying oil is used in cooking, then acrylamide formation will be different. The palm oil use will always exhibit a higher level of the creation of acrylamide when used to fry chips; this is when compared to other oils used for the in-depth frying process. So we can conclude that to reduce the formation of acrylamide when frying chips, then the use of corn oil will be better than olive oil.
Additive like the herb Rosmarinus officinalis during the deep frying of chips will also help in the level of formation of acrylamide. The addition of the amino acids has been a good strategy in reducing the acrylamide in the bread crust, crisps, and chips. It is important to note that some additives have an odor, and besides their effectiveness in the reduction of the formation of acrylamide, they might not be used in the cooking process. Another additive that is effective when frying chips is the herb rosemary, which will reduce the formation of acrylamide by about 25% when added to the frying oil. The addition of an additive, which is highly acidic, will increase the pH level in the potatoes. This will hinder acrylamide formation, which is favorable at the low pH values less than Ph5.
Another favorable strategy for the reduction of acrylamide in food is the soaking and rinsing of potatoes before they are fried. The soaking and rinsing of potatoes should take at least 15 minutes to be very effective in controlling the formation of the acrylamide. The soaking and rinsing will attribute to the leaching sugars from the potatoes’ surface before they are fried. To put more effective methods, the solution used for soaking can acidify by using vinegar or citric acid. Thus the acid used will lower the ph level of the soaking solution. The potatoes tubers’ storage at the temperatures, which is not lower than 8-12c, will also help reduce the formation of acrylamide on the potatoes.
Addressing genetic engineering as a strategy to reduce acrylamide and discuss it with an explanation of how it is possible (acrylamide Genetic Engineering)
The food industry has been faced with the presence of acrylamide in popular foods like potatoes chips. The consumer has been affected by the issues, and therefore, there has been a need to provide a solution for the problem genetically. Reducing the level of acrylamide in food may be achieved by genetically modifying the raw material to reduce the potential of acrylamide formation. There are many modern techniques for the genetic interventions used in the genetic modification to control the creation of acrylamide. These include the chemical mutagenesis and the genome editing, which make the reductions in acrylamide level, which is forming on the potatoes and other cereals.
The acrylamide can be reduced genetically by focusing on the level of the sugar content of different potatoes varieties. Different potatoes being grown in various areas have different levels of sugar content, which can be controlled by genetically modifying the potatoes varieties. The acrylamide formation on the food from the potatoes products can be reduced by making the selection of the cultivars with low sugar concentration, and the one with high sugar concentration can be modified with the low sugar concentration varieties to reduce the amount of sugar hence will reduce the formation of acrylamide.
The genetic engineering technique will introduce the new traits that have a lower level of sugar concentration, hence reducing the formation of acrylamide. Apart from entering the unique characteristics, there can also be greater control of habits compared to the original and unmodified crops. The selective breeding and the mutation breeding will have lower sugar level concentration, which is likely to reduce the amount of acrylamide formation on food from the genetically modified traits. The modification approaches for minimizing the asparagines and the sugar concentration in a plant will help in the reduction of formation acrylamide on the food. Thus the factors that affect the asparagines and sugar accumulation in the cereal seeds and the potatoes tubers can be modified to produce the vegetables with low sugar concentration genetically.
Addressing previous studies on acrylamide in foods and presenting their results briefly.
It is important to note that the acrylamide is not likely to be present on the raw ingredients lie in the fresh potatoes. But it is being formed during the frying process at the increased temperatures typically above the 120C. This temperature can be encountered during boiling, baking, roasting, and frying of the potato’s food. The food products obtained from the plants like cereals and the vegetables are likely to contain a more significant amount of acrylamide due to glucose and other reactants like asparagines. Animal products like meat always contain little or sometimes no acrylamide due to lack of the reactants, which results in the formation of the acrylamide.
Most of the food which is consumed in daily diets worldwide contain acrylamide. Therefore, it is essential to note that dietary acrylamide exposure may not be limited to consuming one particular foodstuff.In the united states, the study indicates that the food staff which contain acrylamide is likely to contribute to almost 38% of the daily calories,36 % of fiber, and 36% from the carbohydrates. The level of acrylamide can also vary according to different manufactures or producers. This is due to the different levels and conditions of food productions.
Product/product group Acrylamide range (μg kg−1) Potatoes (raw) <10–<10–130
Potatoes (raw) <10–<50
Potato chips/crisps 117–4,215
French fries/chips 59–5,200
Bakery products and biscuits 18–3,324
Bread <10–3,200
Bread (toast) 25–1,430
Breakfast cereals <10–1,649
Other fruit and vegetable products <10–70
Chocolate products <2–826
Roasted coffee 45–935
Coffee substitute 80–5,399
Meats <10–116
Dairy products <10–100