Strategies to Reduce Acrylamide Formation During Food Processing Focusing on Cereals, Children and Toddler Consumption: A Review

ABSTRACT

The present review highlights recent strategies of mitigating acrylamide generation during food processing, focusing on the mechanism of formation in processed cereals, health risks and legislative framework. Special emphasis is placed on acrylamide content of foods consumed by infants and toddlers. The overall aim is creating a guide for the food industry to put in place strategies addressing the acrylamide mitigation. As processed cereals have a plethora of possibilities (e.g. ingredients, formulation, heat transfer mode, moisture and temperature gradients), there is no single approach for acrylamide mitigation. Consequently, case-by-case evaluation is required. Industrial feasibility and consumers’ acceptance should be also considered.

KEYWORDS:

• Acrylamide
• cereals
• mitigation
• asparagine
• asparaginase

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Ferrero Foundation. This work was carried out within the framework of the inter-University Second-level Master’s Degree in “Innovation in Food Science and Technology – Michele Ferrero” of the University of Turin and the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.