Acrylamide in cereal products: A review

The review summarises the results of almost 5 years of academic and industrial research on acrylamide in cereal products. Significant progress in this field has been made during that time, as reflected by the numerous publications on this subject. In addition to studies of their formation, mechanisms and toxicological studies, ways to minimise acrylamide in heat-treated starch-rich foods have been the main focus. Therefore, this review will first give a brief overview of acrylamide formation and toxicology, including its mitigation in potato products, with further focus being on cereal products. In the latter commodities, acrylamide can be limited either by selecting suitable raw materials, e.g. flours produced from varieties low in asparagine and of a low extraction rate, respectively, or by optimisation of the production technology. The latter strategy not only comprises technological measures such as temperature control and selection of the oven type, but also product formulation and the use of low molecular additives.