title: Possible causes of variation in acrylamide concentration in French fries prepared in food service establishments: an observational study.
abstract: Acrylamide is a probable human carcinogen, and its presence in a range of fried and oven-cooked foods has raised considerable health concern world-wide. Dietary intake studies observed significant variations in acrylamide concentrations, which complicate risk assessment and the establishment of effective control measures. The objective of this study was to obtain an insight into the actual variation in acrylamide concentrations in French fries prepared under typical conditions in a food service establishment (FSE). Besides acrylamide, frying time, frying temperature, and reducing sugars were measured and the actual practices at receiving, thawing and frying during French fries preparation were observed and recorded. The variation in the actual frying temperature contributed most to the variation in acrylamide concentrations, followed by the variation in actual frying time; no obvious effect of reducing sugars was found. The lack of standardised control of frying temperature and frying time (due to inadequate frying equipment) and the variable practices of food handlers seem to contribute most to the large variation and high acrylamide concentrations in French fries prepared in a restaurant type of FSE as compared to chain fast-food services, and institutional caterers. The obtained insights in this study can be used to develop dedicated control measures in FSE, which may contribute to a sustainable reduction in the acrylamide intake.
authors.affiliation: Product Design and Quality Management Group, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8129, Bomenweg 2, NL-6700 EV Wageningen, The Netherlands; Centre of Excellence for Food Safety Research, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanny
authors.affiliation: Centre of Excellence for Food Safety Research, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jinap
authors.affiliation: Biometris, Applied Statistics, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 100, 6708 PD Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Bakker
authors.affiliation: Product Design and Quality Management Group, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8129, Bomenweg 2, NL-6700 EV Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M A J S
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: van Boekel
authors.affiliation: Product Design and Quality Management Group, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8129, Bomenweg 2, NL-6700 EV Wageningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: pieternel.luning@wur.nl.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Luning
mesh_terms: D020106:Acrylamide / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods*; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000032:analysis*; D005511:Food Handling; D005522:Food Services; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D011198:Solanum tuberosum / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D020106:Acrylamide
keywords: Acrylamide concentration; Food service establishments; French fries