Acrylamide in commercial table olives and the effect of domestic cooking

Abstract

Table olive products can contribute to the nutritional intake of acrylamide; a compound classified as a probable carcinogen. For an exposure evaluation of acrylamide the analysis of market products is therefore important. However, it must be taken into account that olives are often used in heated meals e.g. pizza products, which is expected to affect the final acrylamide concentration. Here we present acrylamide concentrations in table olive products collected on the Danish market in the period 2014 to 2019, as well as the effect of domestic heating in an oven. The table olive products contained acrylamide concentrations from below the detection limits to 1100 μg/kg. After oven baking at 150–270 °C for time intervals of 7–21 min acrylamide concentrations ranging from 24 to 18,300 μg/kg were obtained. Acrylamide concentrations of more than 13,000 μg/kg were found for olives with water activities ( a w ) of 0.8 that still looked appealing for human consumption. Results from table olives and domestic cooking with palatable olives were found to significantly add to the total acrylamide intake, for some Danish consumers. • Black table olives contain a range of acrylamide concentrations. • Domestic heating can increase acrylamide concentrations up to 4000 times. • Acrylamide formation in baked olives depends on time and temperature. • Black olives, raw or heated, should be included in acrylamide risk assessments.