Acrylamide in the food product

The consumption of fried food products or usually called as fried foods, seems to be need to limited. The research result of Eden Tareke, and friends from the University of Stockholm, Sweden showed that the food that rich of carbohydrate, like potatoes (especially those who came from the fast food restaurant, in this case potato chips and french fries) can trigger the formation of acrylamide, that can be a potential formation of the cancer (carcinogenic). The massive concentration of acrylamide in the fried food, from the highest is potato chips, French fries, and grilled food like cereal, bread.

The Effect and The Limitation
Acrylamide can destroy DNA that functions as a genetic material, nerve material, causing tumor, decreasing the level of fertility, and causing the fall prematurely of the mice used in this research. The maximum dosage of acrylamide that also known as 2-preponamide is 0, 5 µg/L, according to the people of Europe and the united nation’s world health organization (WHO), Acrylamide actually can be absorbed by the digestion system and turned out from the body through urine in several hours after the consumption if it is not more than the maximum level.

The Formation of Acrylamide
Generally speaking, the mechanism of the formation of acrylamide are happened n three ways:
1. Formed from the acrolein or acrilate acid resulted from the degradation of carbohydrate, fat, or free amino acid, like alanin, asparagin, and metionin that have a similarity in the structure of acrylamide.
2. Formed directly from the amino acid.
3. Formed from the dehydration or decarboxilation of some certain organic acids like lactate acid, malat acid, and citrate acid.
The amino acid asparagin is the amino acid that has the most important role in the formation of acrylamide, it is easy to react to sugar. In potato, asparain is as much as 40% of amino acid, in the cooking temperature of 1000C is enough to produce acrylamide.

The Solution Alternative
Although, the research result of Eden Tereke and friends also gives information that acrylamide is only exist in a small amount in the food materials that do not fried. or grilled. Even, based on the other research, that kind of compound is not exist in the raw, steamed or boiled food. It is assumed, in the relative extreme heat (for example 1900C or in the boiled oil), the carbohydrate compound (for example in the potato, wheat) can be release, then react with the amino acid in the protein. Because of this, the maximize of the food process include high temperature, for example in the deep frying, baking, grilling and broiling need to be done, it is because the higher the temperature and the longer the time for heating, the most significant effect to the amount of the acrylamide formation.
So, the consumption of carbohydrate-rich food that fried actually do not need to be scared if the heat when it is fried is not too extreme and the oil is not used all over and over again. We also need to keep the balance of our eating habit, we also need to consume vegetables and fruits.

Related archieves:
Reducing acrylamide in fried food
Virgin coconut oil: processing, quality and benefits