Exposure to acrylamide from home-cooked food: fried potatoes (rösti) in Switzerland as an example

ABSTRACT

There is a significant lack of data on acrylamide in food which is prepared domestically, as obtaining samples of food cooked in people’s homes is more complex than taking samples from shops. Rösti is a fried potato dish, which can be a significant contributor to acrylamide exposure, particularly in the German speaking areas of Switzerland. A set of 71 samples was collected from people who cooked the dish at home. The average acrylamide content was 709 µg/kg. Based on a food frequency questionnaire and on a Swiss national food survey the results enabled the determination of the exposure of the population to acrylamide through home-made rösti. The values for an exposure estimate to acrylamide from rösti are 7.8 µg/day for the whole population (including rösti eaters and non-eaters) and 27.2 µg/day for predominantly rösti consumers participating in this study.

KEYWORDS:

• Acrylamide
• reducing sugar
• fried potatoes
• monitoring
• exposure
• risk
• rösti
• hash browns
• home-cooking
• domestic cooking

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) for funding this project and Vincent Dudler from the FSVO for his support.

The authors also thank the IT-team and reception of the Official Food Control authority of the Canton of Zurich for their support with the project.

Lastly, many thanks go to the 71 individuals who were prepared to cook a rösti they were not able to eat.