Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Apr 19;18(8):4332.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18084332.

Acrylamide in Bakery Products: A Review on Health Risks, Legal Regulations and Strategies to Reduce Its Formation

Cristina Sarion  1 , Georgiana Gabriela Codină  1 , Adriana Dabija  1
Affiliations
Review

Acrylamide in Bakery Products: A Review on Health Risks, Legal Regulations and Strategies to Reduce Its Formation

Cristina Sarion et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Acrylamide is a contaminant as defined in Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93 and as such, it is considered a chemical hazard in the food chain. The toxicity of acrylamide has been acknowledged since 2002, among its toxicological effects on humans being neurotoxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and reproductive toxicity. Acrylamide has been classified as carcinogenic in the 2A group, with human exposure leading to progressive degeneration of the peripheral and central nervous systems characterized by cognitive and motor abnormalities. Bakery products (bread, crispbread, cakes, batter, breakfast cereals, biscuits, pies, etc.) are some of the major sources of dietary acrylamide. The review focuses on the levels of acrylamide in foods products, in particular bakery ones, and the risk that resulting dietary intake of acrylamide has on human health. The evolving legislative situation regarding the acrylamide content from foodstuffs, especially bakery ones, in the European Union is discussed underlining different measures that food producers must take in order to comply with the current regulations regarding the acrylamide levels in their products. Different approaches to reduce the acrylamide level in bakery products such as the use of asparginase, calcium salts, antioxidants, acids and their salts, etc., are described in detail.

Keywords: acrylamide; bakery products; legal regulations; public health; reduction method; toxicity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of acrylamide, its toxicity and legal regulations in bakery industry.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Methods of acrylamide reduction in bakery products.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Nachi I., Fhoula I., Smida I., Taher I.B., Chouaibi M., Jaunbergs J., Hassouna M. Assessment of lactic acid bacteria application for the reduction of acrylamide formation in bread. LWT. 2018;92:435–441. doi: 10.1016/j.lwt.2018.02.061. - DOI
    1. Miśkiewicz K., Nebesny E., Rosicka-Kaczmarek J., Żyżelewicz D., Budryn G. The effects of baking conditions on acrylamide content in shortcrust cookies with added freeze-dried aqueous rosemary extract. J. Food Sci. Technol. 2018;55:4184–4196. doi: 10.1007/s13197-018-3349-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Miśkiewicz K., Rosicka-Kaczmarek J., Nebesny E. Effects of chickpea protein on carbohydrate reactivity in acrylamide formation in low humidity model systems. Foods. 2020;9:167. doi: 10.3390/foods9020167. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mogol B.A., Gökmen V. Mitigation of acrylamide and hydroxymethylfurfural in biscuits using a combined partial conventional baking and vacuum post-baking process: Preliminary study at the lab scale. Innov. Food Sci. Emerg. Technol. 2014;26:265–270. doi: 10.1016/j.ifset.2014.05.002. - DOI
    1. Keramat J., LeBail A., Prost C., Jafari M. Acrylamide in baking products: A review article. Food Bioprocess Technol. 2011;4:530–543. doi: 10.1007/s11947-010-0495-1. - DOI

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources