Detecting Acrylamide in Cereal-Based Foods

For many years, concern over the presence of acrylamide in foods has gained the attention of groups including the World Health Organization (WHO) the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the US Food and Drug Administration. Acrylamide forms when carbohydrate-based foods such as crackers, potato chips and French fries are oven-heated or fried at high temperatures. Acrylamide may pose health concerns such as carcenogenicity, especially if it is consumed on a regular basis. Therefore, it is essential to develop accurate methods of detecting and quantifying the amount of acrylamide in foods. Using gas chromatography coupled with electron capture and ion trap mass spectrometry detectors, (GC-ECD and GC-IT/MS) researchers from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Food, at the University of Molise in Campobasso, Italy sought to determine the extent of acrylamide present in common cereal-based foods.¹ The researchers purchased common foods (a breakfast cereal, butter biscuits and French fries) from a local Italian market. The samples were analyzed with GC-ECD first, a standard addition of an acrylamide was added, and the GC-ECD analysis was repeated. The derivatization step was used to improve volatility and detectability by GC-ECD. The researchers also analyzed the samples using GC-IT/MS on a Trace GC Ultra gas chromatograph coupled to a Polaris Q ion-trap mass spectrometer with a PTV injector, and Xcalibur chromatography software (all Thermo Scientific) to confirm the results. The results were comparable with other methods, and also were reproducible with an RSDs below 4%. Other benefits of GC-ECD and GC-IT/MS are that they can be applied to a variety of types of cereal-based foods. According to the authors, the analysis is not overly time consuming or costly and, as long as the right equipment is present, GC-ECD and GC-IT/MS can be performed in any laboratory. Reference