Computer Simulation with a Temperature-Step Frying Approach to Mitigate Acrylamide Formation in French Fries.

Der-Sheng Chan

doi:10.3390/foods9020200

Abstract

A heat and mass-transfer model coupled with reaction kinetics was developed to simulate frying. Obtaining an accurate mathematical model of the Maillard reaction and the heat and mass transfer is crucial for predicting the transient acrylamide formation, temperature, and water content in French fries. The objective of this study was to mitigate the formation of acrylamide in a potato strip by adopting a temperature step frying approach (TSFA). A considerable increase in the water content and a decrease in the temperature and acrylamide formation were observed in a potato strip fried with the TSFA compared with a potato strip fried without the TSFA process. The acrylamide content in a potato strip when fried using the TSFA decreased considerably to 57% of that in a potato strip fried without using the TSFA. Simulation of the acrylamide distribution in a potato strip revealed that the crust contains the highest amount of acrylamide. The proposed model can be successfully used to obtain high-quality products, mitigate acrylamide formation, and save energy.

Highlights

Probable carcinogen; it is a byproduct of the Maillard reaction that occurs in starchy food processed at high temperatures [1]
Acrylamide is found in many high-temperature processed foods, such as French fries, potato chips, baked cereal, and coffee
The average water content of the strip decreased from 77.2% to 32.4 and 25.1% when fried for 6 min and 9 min, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Acrylamide is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group 2A probable carcinogen; it is a byproduct of the Maillard reaction that occurs in starchy food processed at high temperatures [1]. Administration) that provide recommendations, guidance, and plans to reduce acrylamide in heated food are available [4,5,6]. Modifying the baking time and temperature can help reduce the amount of acrylamide in baked foods [4]. A useful method for mitigating the formation of acrylamide is to employ a baking process at a low temperature for a long heating time [7,8]. Acrylamide is found in many high-temperature processed foods, such as French fries, potato chips, baked cereal, and coffee

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Results