Acrylamide in widely consumed foods – a review

Abstract

Acrylamide (AA) is considered genotoxic, neurotoxic and a ‘probable human carcinogen’. It is included in group 2 A of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The formation of AA occurs when starch-based foods are subjected to temperatures higher than 120 °C in an atmosphere with very low water content. The aim of this review is to shed light on the toxicological aspects of AA, showing its regulatory evolution, and describing the most interesting mitigation techniques for each food category involved, with a focus on compliance with EU legislation in the various classes of consumer products of industrial origin in Europe.

Keywords:

• acrylamide reducing sugars asparagine French fries glycation reaction Maillard reaction

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge MUR (Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca) – PON Ricerca ed Innovazione rerearch programme – and the University "G. d'Annunzio" – "Scuola Superiore" – for the doctorate grant to SP.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the ITQSA (Consorzio per l'Innovazione Tecnologica – Qualità e Sicurezza degli Alimenti). Research project: [DM 61318] – Utilizzazione di sottoprodotti agro-industriali.