Results of the BfR MEAL Study: Acrylamide in foods from the German market with highest levels in vegetable crisps

Abstract

Acrylamide (AA) is formed in foods due to thermal processes. AA was analysed in 230 foods in the first German Total Diet Study and the highest mean levels of AA were found in vegetable crisps (1430 μg/kg), followed by potato pancakes (558) μg/kg) and pan-fried potatoes (450 μg/kg). In various foods, e.g. French fries and sweet potatoes, AA was also tested for different browning degrees and cooking methods. French fries cooked to a browning degree of 3 in all cooking methods exceeded the benchmark level set by the European Union. French fries prepared in the oven and sweet potatoes in the air fryer had the lowest AA levels. In foods from the German market, AA was found also in foods such as popcorn (243 μg/kg), salty sticks (190 μg/kg), and dark chocolate (130 μg/kg). Levels of AA found in our study may support future dietary exposure and food safety assessments.

Keywords: Acrylamide; BfR MEAL study; Browning degrees; Cooking methods; Household processing; Occurrence data; Total diet study.

Fig. 1

15 highest mean levels of acrylamide in the MEAL foods analysed (UB) [μg/kg]. If more than one preparation method or browning degree was investigated, the most preferred by consumers was used for the mean calculation (Hackethal et al. (2023).

Fig. 2

Acrylamide levels (μg/kg) for sweet potato fries (oven), French fries (oven) and pan-fried potatoes prepared with browning degrees (1–4). Notes: sweet potato fries and French fries were only tested for BD 1, 2 and 3, as BD 4 and 5 were of no relevance in the consumer's surveys (Hackethal et al., 2023).

Fig. 3

Levels of acrylamide ([μg/kg]) in French fries and sweet potato fries prepared in air fryer, deep fryer and in oven with different browning degrees (1–3). Uncooked samples (BD 0) were also analysed, since pre-fried bagged French fries and sweet potato fries undergo pre-frying processes that can lead to the formation of AA at the factory level.