Acrylamide occurrence in Keribo: Ethiopian traditional fermented beverage

Keribo is one of the most commonly used traditional beverages in both rural and urban areas of Ethiopia. However, the occurrence of some harmful compounds which could potentially be formed due to its processing methods has never been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of acrylamide in Keribo and its association with processing conditions. Malted and unmalted barley roasted at three levels and also similar levels of sugar concentration were used in Keribo preparation. The barley flour to water ratio used during preparation was 1 kg: 10 L. A total of 18 Keribo samples were analyzed for their acrylamide contents using high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). QuEChERS sample preparation procedure was used. In this study, there was a statistically significant variation (P < 0.05) in the acrylamide content of Keribo between malted and unmalted barely. The variation in acrylamide content between different levels of roasting and sugar concentrations was also statistically significant (P < 0.05). Statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed for the three way interaction of malting, roasting and sugar level. The highest concentration of acrylamide (3440 μg/kg) was recorded from Keribo prepared from deep roasted unmalted barley with higher sugar concentration. The lowest concentration (1320 μg/kg) was obtained for light roasted unmalted barley with medium sugar concentration. It can be concluded that level of roasting has high implication on acrylamide concentration. Malted barley had a lower concentration of acrylamide and this warrants malting and light roasting of barely are crucially important to minimize the level of acrylamide concentration and reduce the potential health impacts.