Acrylamide in home-prepared roasted potatoes - influence of growing location and N-fertilisation. (Special Issue: Potato V.)

摘要

Acrylamide is a probable human carcinogen that is formed during heating of carbohydrate-rich foods. The formation goes via the Maillard reaction between the precursors sugars and the amino acid asparagine, and at the same time brown colour, taste and crispiness are formed. Most mitigation strategies have been devoted to industrially prepared foods, and data on acrylamide in home-cooked foods are scarce. For national food authorities there is a need to collect such scientific data as a basis for advice to consumers on healthy cooking. In this study, the concentrations of the acrylamide precursors, asparagine and sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose), were determined in four potato varieties ('Asterix', 'Bintje', Princess' and 'Superb'), grown at two different locations in the south of Sweden. Nitrogen had been given at two levels (60 and 120 kg N/ha) during growth. Potato wedges were prepared and roasted in two domestic ovens according to common home-cooking practices and analysed for acrylamide. The acrylamide concentrations ranged from 57 to 457 micro g/kg dry matter. Nitrogen fertilisation had no significant effect on precursor content or acrylamide levels. The growth location had a large influence on the content of sugars in the tubers and on the content of acrylamide in the roasted potato wedges. The temperature profiles in the ovens fluctuated and differed between the ovens and our results indicate that there is a need for better temperature control in domestic ovens. For a 200 g portion of oven roasted potato wedges, the acrylamide content may be estimated to range from 3 to 27 micro g giving a significant contribution to the dietary acrylamide intake.