title: The contribution of azodicarbonamide to ethyl carbamate formation in bread and beer.
abstract: Data on ethyl carbamate concentrations in beers purchased and analysed between 1988 and 1990 are presented. The concentrations in draught beers were uniformly below the detection limit of 1 microgram/l. Canned beers contained rather more ethyl carbamate (up to 2.5 micrograms/l) which is considered to be due to their longer shelf-life and higher alcohol content (in some cases). Bottled beers contained even higher amounts of ethyl carbamate (up to 14.7 micrograms/l) and this was considered to be due to the use of azodicarbonamide as a blowing agent in the beer bottle cap liners. It is understood that modifications to the liner have led to reduced concentrations in bottled beers produced more recently. A survey of bread samples and related cereal products such as rusks, French toasts and pitta bread indicated typical ethyl carbamate concentrations between < 0.4 and 4.5 micrograms/kg. Toasting bread led to increases of between three- and eight-fold in ethyl carbamate concentrations ranging from 3.5 to 33.8 micrograms/kg on a wet weight basis. Analysis of the data indicated that commercial bread samples which indicated the use of azodicarbonamide as a flour improver showed statistically significant increases in ethyl carbamate concentrations. The mean increase for treated bread over untreated bread was 66%. When these breads were toasted, the mean increase for treated toast over untreated toast was 56%.
authors.affiliation: CSL Food Science Laboratory, Colney, Norwich, UK.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Dennis
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Massey
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ginn
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Willetts
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crews
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D001391:Azo Compounds; D001515:Beer / Q000032:analysis*; D001939:Bread / Q000032:analysis*; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000032:analysis*; D003296:Cooking; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000737:chemistry; D005503:Food Additives; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D014520:Urethane / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D001391:Azo Compounds; D002273:Carcinogens; D005503:Food Additives; D014520:Urethane; C004525:azodicarbonamide