Acrylamide and Oil Reduction in Fried Potatoes: A Review

Potato is the raw food material that has been used the most in frying operations due to the high demand of consumers all over the world. Detection of high concentrations of acrylamide in heated starch rich foodstuffs, such as potato, by the Swedish National Food Administration in April 2002 attained public concern because this product is a suspected human carcinogen. Maillard reaction is suggested as the major mechanism of acrylamide formation in fried potatoes. The precursors of this reaction for fried potatoes are glucose, fructose and asparagine. So, several methods based in diminishing or eliminating acrylamide precursors have been implemented. On the, other hand, other reduction methods of acrylamide focus principally in the process parameters such as vacuum frying or conventional frying at low temperatures. Post-frying techniques could eventually be implemented to diminish acrylamide formation as well. But the major challenge is to reduce as much as possible acrylamide levels in fried potatoes but maintaining intact their sensorial properties and low oil content. Typical final oil content of potato chips and French fries are ~35% and ~15% by weight, respectively. Some of the principal factors that affect oil absorption in fried potato products are process parameters (temperature, pressure and frying time), deterioration degree of the frying oil, food geometry and pre-treatments (e.g. drying, solute impregnation, edible film coatings). Recently, much attention has been given to the use of vacuum frying which may be an option to produce fried potatoes with low oil content. Reducing acrylamide and oil content while maintaining product quality (flavor, color, texture, safety, etc.) in commercial fried potato production is a crucial challenge for the food industry. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________