Simultaneous determination of acrylamide and 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone in baby food by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Acrylamide, hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural in ready-to-eat foods consumed by child population: Presence, risk assessment and future perspectives

Food intake contributes to adequate growth and neurodevelopment of children. Ready-to-eat foods, frequently consumed by this population, are sources of acrylamide (AA), hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural (FF). In this sense, a review of the AA, HMF, and FF presence in ready-to-eat foods was evaluated through a systematic search to infer the risk of exposure in the child population. About 75.8%, 24.2%, and 21% of the studies found AA, HMF, and FF in ready-to-eat foods, respectively. AA is predominant in processed and ultra-processed foods, while HMF and FF are commonly found in fruit-based foods. Only 17.7% of the studies assessed the children's risk of exposure, based on the contaminant concentration in ready-to-eat food and not after gastrointestinal digestion, a more realistic measure. Therefore, with the obtained information and found gaps, it is expected that new strategies will be proposed to assess the vulnerability of the child population to these processing contaminants.

Plant-based meat substitute analysis using microextraction with deep eutectic solvent followed by LC-MS/MS to determine acrylamide, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furaneol

For the analysis of plant-based meat substitutes and the determination of Maillard reaction products such as acrylamide, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furaneol, a novel and effective procedure based on hydrophobic natural deep eutectic solvent and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the first time. The 49 compositions of the deep eutectic solvents were designed and screened to select the most suitable option. The terpenoids eugenol and thymol in a molar ratio of 2:1 were selected as precursors for solvent formation, allowing effective extraction of the target analytes. The developed procedure comprised two main steps: extraction - in which the analytes are isolated from the solid sample due to the salting-out effect and pre-concentrated in the deep eutectic solvent, and back-extraction - in which the analytes are re-extracted into the formic acid solution for subsequent mass spectrometric detection. As the density of the aqueous phases changed during the extraction and back-extraction steps, the phenomenon of inversion of the coalesced organic phase was observed, which simplified the withdrawing of the phases. The linear range was 1-50 ng/mL for acrylamide, 10-1000 ng/mL for 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and 200-1000 ng/mL for furaneol with coefficients of determination above 0.9952. The developed method was fully validated and found recoveries were in the range 83-120%, with CVs not exceeding 4.9%. The method was applied to real sample analysis of pea-based meat substitutes.

Toxicity, formation, contamination, determination and mitigation of acrylamide in thermally processed plant-based foods and herbal medicines: A review

Thermal processing is one of the important techniques for most of the plant-based food and herb medicines before consumption and application in order to meet the specific requirement. The plant and herbs are rich in amino acids and reducing sugars, and thermal processing may lead to Maillard reaction, resulting as a high risk of acrylamide pollution. Acrylamide, an organic pollutant that can be absorbed by the body through the respiratory tract, digestive tract, skin and mucous membranes, has potential carcinogenicity, neurological, genetic, reproductive and developmental toxicity. Therefore, it is significant to conduct pollution determination and risk assessment for quality assurance and security of medication. This review demonstrates state-of-the-art research of acrylamide focusing on the toxicity, formation, contamination, determination, and mitigation in taking food and herb medicine, to provide reference for scientific processing and ensure the security of consumers.

Maillard reaction harmful products in dairy products: Formation, occurrence, analysis, and mitigation strategies

Various harmful Maillard reaction products such as lactulosyl-lysine (furosine), furfurals, and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) could be formed during the thermal processing of dairy products, which could lead to various chronic diseases. In this review, the furosine, furfurals, and AGEs formation, occurrence, analysis methods, and toxicological and health aspects in various dairy products were summarized to better monitor and control the levels of harmful Maillard reaction products in processed dairy products. It was observed that all types of dairy products, including raw milk, contain harmful Maillard reaction products, with the highest in whey cheese and condensed milk. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is the common method for the determination of furosine and furfurals and AGEs in dairy products, respectively. However, the simple, rapid, environment-friendly, and accurate methods of determination are still to be developed. Incorporating resveratrol, pectin oligosaccharides (POS) in milk are effective methods to inhibit AGEs formation. This review provides a guide not only for consumers regarding the selection and consumption of dairy products, but also for monitoring and controlling the quality of dairy products.

Simultaneous Determination of Furanic Compounds and Acrylamide in Insect-Based Foods by HPLC-QqQ-MS/MS Employing a Functionalized Mesostructured Silica as Sorbent in Solid-Phase Extraction

Insect-based products are novel foods (NF) that merit careful study. For this reason, in this work a method has been developed for the simultaneous analysis of four food processing contaminants (FPC), acrylamide (AA), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, (HMF), 5-methylfurfural (MF) and furfural (F), in insect-based products (bars, crackers and flours) by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-QqQ-MS/MS). The method consisted of a solid-liquid extraction (SLE) with acidified water, followed by solid-phase extraction (SPE), using 100 mg of a sorbent based on mesostructured silica with a large pore functionalized with amino groups (SBA-15-LP-NH2). The analytical method was properly optimized and validated in a representative bar sample of pineapple & coconut with cricket flour (Ins-B-Pine-Coco) showing good accuracy, with recoveries ranging from 70-101% for the four analytes and adequate precision (RSD < 9%). Good linearity (R2 ≥ 0.995) and low method quantification limits for AA (between 1.3-1.4 µg/g), F (between 7.9-8.8 µg/g), MF (between 3.1-6.5 µg/g) and HMF (between 1.5-3.3 µg/g) were also obtained in all samples studied. The proposed method was successfully applied in eleven insect-based foods. Results revealed that insect-based bars can be a good alternative to traditional cereal bars to reduce dietary exposure to HMF; but, in order to reduce the exposure to AA, alternative formulations must be evaluated in the design of innovative insect-based crackers.

A Review of Dietary Intake of Acrylamide in Humans

The dietary intake of acrylamide (AA) is a health concern, and food is being monitored worldwide, but the extent of AA exposure from the diet is uncertain. The aim of this review was to provide an overview of estimated dietary intake. We performed a PubMed search identifying studies that used dietary questionnaires and recalls to estimate total dietary AA intake. A total of 101 studies were included, corresponding to 68 original study populations from 26 countries. Questionnaires were used in 57 studies, dietary recalls were used in 33 studies, and 11 studies used both methods. The estimated median AA intake ranged from 0.02 to 1.53 μg/kg body weight/day between studies. Children were represented in 25 studies, and the body-weight-adjusted estimated AA intake was up to three times higher for children than adults. The majority of studies were from Europe (n = 65), Asia (n = 17), and the USA (n = 12). Studies from Asia generally estimated lower intakes than studies from Europe and the USA. Differences in methods undermine direct comparison across studies. The assessment of AA intake through dietary questionnaires and recalls has limitations. The integration of these methods with the analysis of validated biomarkers of exposure/internal dose would improve the accuracy of dietary AA intake exposure estimation. This overview shows that AA exposure is widespread and the large variation across and within populations shows a potential for reduced intake among those with the highest exposure.

Acrylamide in non-centrifugal sugar from Latin American markets: in-house validation of an LC-MS/MS method, dietary exposure assessment and risk characterisation in Brazil and Colombia

A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method (LC-MS/MS) preceded by a rapid and simple QuEChERS-based sample preparation was developed and validated for the determination of acrylamide in non-centrifugal sugar (NCS), a solid product obtained from sugarcane juice without centrifugation, up to a concentration greater than 90 ºBrix. Adequate linearity in calibration curves, analytical selectivity and sensitivity were achieved. A limit of detection (LOD) and a limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 10 and 20 µg kg^-1, respectively, were obtained. Recoveries (84.3-107.5%) and coefficients of variation (CV<15%) for repeatability and reproducibility conditions were appropriate in intraday and interday laboratory conditions. The concentration of acrylamide was determined in 76 commercial samples of NCS from different Latin American countries and ranged from <20 to 1414 µg kg^-1. The highest mean acrylamide amounts were found in samples from Peru, Ecuador and Colombia (636, 446 and 401 µg kg^-1, respectively). Considering the form of the product, the highest average levels were found in granulated NCS (517 µg kg^-1) when compared to block (294 µg kg^-1). Within the Colombian samples, organic NCS, made with natural flocculant, presented a higher acrylamide mean concentration (721 µg kg^-1) than conventional samples (363 µg kg^-1). Although the Margin of Exposure (MOE) values for neurotoxicity suggested that the estimated intakes in Brazil and Colombia are not a concern, MOEs obtained for neoplastic effects raised attention.

Development of an Isotope Dilution UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS-Based Method for Simultaneous Determination of Typical Advanced Glycation End Products and Acrylamide in Baked and Fried Foods

In this work, a stable isotope dilution ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of N^ε-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML), N^ε-(carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL), and acrylamide (AA) in baked and fried foods. Ground food samples were extracted with acetone followed by two parallel assays. In assay A, a cleanup procedure based on dispersive solid-phase extraction was conducted for AA, free CML, and CEL analysis using the supernatant. In assay B, a multistep process including reduction, protein precipitation, acid hydrolysis, and solid-phase extraction was conducted for bound CML and CEL analysis using precipitation. The developed method was validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity (limit of detection, LOD; limit of quantitation, LOQ), accuracy, and precision. The results showed that the method had a wide linear range (0.25-500 ng/mL for CML and CEL, 0.5-500 ng/mL for AA), low LOD and LOQ (0.47-0.94 and 1.52-1.91 μg/kg, respectively), and good linearity (R² > 0.999). The recovery test on baby biscuit and French fries samples showed the recovery rates of 90.2-108.3% for CML, 89.0-106.1% for CEL, and 94.5-112.3% for AA with satisfactory precision (relative standard deviation (RSD) < 10%). Finally, the developed method was successfully applied to 11 baked and fried food samples, and total CML, CEL, and AA contents varied in the ranges of 4.07-35.88 mg/kg, 1.99-14.49 mg/kg, and 5.56-506.64 μg/kg, respectively. Therefore, the isotope dilution UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS method developed herein is promising for routine analysis of CML, CEL, and AA in baked and fried foods.

Determination and risk assessment of acrylamide in thermally processed Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma

As one of the medicine homologous foods in China, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (AMR) is usually distributed after thermal processing, which raised the possibility of acrylamide pollution and a potential carcinogenic risk. In this study, a method was developed for the determination of the acrylamide in AMR using graphited multiwalled carbon nanotubes as the dispersive solid phase extraction sorbent and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The concentration of acrylamide was investigated at processing conditions of 80℃-210℃ and 5 min-100 min. Method validation results demonstrated the reliability of the method with good linearity, accuracy and precision. Significant increment of acrylamide was found in AMR after thermal processing with the highest concentration at 9826 μg/kg, which led to a margin of exposure at 90.83-181.7 according to the BMDL₁₀ of carcinogenicity at 0.17 mg/kg, indicating a high health risk of taking thermally processed AMR, and monitoring and controlling should be considered.

Biomedical rationale for acrylamide regulation and methods of detection

Acrylamide is the product of the Maillard reaction, which occurs when starchy, asparagine-rich foods including potato or grain products and coffee are fried, baked, roasted, or heated. Studies in rodents provide evidence that acrylamide is carcinogenic and a male reproductive harmful agent when administered in exceedingly high levels. A 2002 study identified acrylamide in popular consumer food and beverage products, stimulating the European Union (EU) and California to legislate public notice of acrylamide presence in fried and baked foods, and coffee products. The regulatory legislation enacted in the EU and California has scientists working to develop foods and processes aimed at reducing acrylamide formation and advancing rapid and accurate analytical methods for the quantitative and qualitative determination of acrylamide in food and beverage products. The purpose of this review is to survey the studies performed on rodents and humans that identified the potential health impact of acrylamide in the human diet, and provide insight into established and emerging analytical methods used to detect acrylamide in blood, aqueous samples, and food.

2-Naphthalenthiol derivatization followed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction as an efficient and sensitive method for determination of acrylamide in bread and biscuit samples using high-performance liquid chromatography

In this research, an ultrasonic-assisted extraction followed by 2-naphthalenthiol derivatization and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction of acrylamide (AA) was developed as simple and sensitive sample preparation method for AA in bread and biscuit samples using high performance liquid chromatography. Influence of derivatization and microextraction parameters were evaluated and optimized. Results showed that the derivatization of AA leads to improve its hydrophobicity and chromatographic behavior. Under optimum conditions of derivatization and microextraction, the method yielded a linear calibration curve ranging from 10 to 1000 μg L^-1 with a determination coefficient (R²) of 0.9987. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 3.0 and 9.0 μg L^-1, respectively. Intra-day (n = 6) and inter-day (n = 3) precisions based on relative standard deviation percent (RSD%) for extraction and determination of AA at 50 and 500 μg L^-1 levels were less than 9.0%. Finally, the performance of proposed method was investigated for determination of AA in some bread and biscuit samples, and satisfactory results were obtained (relative recovery ≥ 90%).