|
Description:
|
Acrylamide is considered a carcinogen in animals and a possible carcinogen in
humans . It has been found in starch rich foods cooked at high temperatures . Vacuum
frying (10 Torr ) was studied as a possible alternative to reduce acrylamide formation in
potato chips .
Seven potato cultivars were analyzed to determine their influence on acrylamide
formation during traditional and vacuum frying . The White Rose cultivar produced the
highest level of acrylamide during both traditional and vacuum frying . Vacuum frying
(10 Torr , 118oC , 8 min ) produced chips with lower acrylamide content than those
produced under traditional frying (165oC , 4 min ) for all cultivars .
The cultivar Atlantic was used to determine the kinetics of acrylamide formation
during traditional and vacuum frying at different temperatures because it is a good
chipping cultivar and it was the most abundant in the lab . Acrylamide accumulation
under vacuum frying was modeled using first -order kinetics , and during traditional
frying it was modeled using the logistic kinetic model . The behavior of the kinetics of
acrylamide content in potato chips fried under the two processes was different mainly
due to the different temperatures used . During traditional frying , higher temperatures areused (150oC to 180oC ) and acrylamide after some time is produced but also starts
degrading , producing a constant level of acrylamide content at longer times . During
vacuum frying (10 Torr ) , acrylamide increased exponentially (but at lower levels ) for all
frying times .
The effect of potato components was studied by infusing leached potato slices
with predetermined amounts of glucose and asparagine . Increasing glucose and
asparagine content in the slices increased the acrylamide content in the potato chips .
Color could not be used as an indication of acrylamide content , since potato chips with
similar color had very different acrylamide concentrations . |