Acrylamide is an organic, unsaturated compound with a low molecular weight. It forms naturally during cooking at high temperatures of starchy foods rich in reducing sugars and amino acids such as asparagine. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified acrylamide as a probable human carcinogen belonging to group 2A, based on its carcinogenicity found in rodents. In 2002, Swedish researchers found the presence of acrylamide in several heat-treated carbohydrate-rich foods. This discovery raised considerable concern as acrylamide is present in food in considerably higher quantities than other known food carcinogens, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and ethyl carbamate. Current epidemiological findings on the presence of acrylamide focus more on large-scale industrial products; on the other hand, there is no scientific evidence for typical gastronomic preparations such as street food. These gastronomic types involve the use of cooking techniques capable of determining a considerable formation of acrylamide. In addition, the heterogeneity of the ingredients used for the preparation of these products leads to have a greater focus on the presence of this substance. The present project has therefore provided the first scientific findings on the presence of acrylamide in street food marketed in Italy through the development and validation of an LC-MS / MS method. The study involved the collection and production of street food samples from different parts of Italy as well as products of other nationalities commonly consumed in our area. The collected and prepared samples were extracted following several optimization tests with the QuEChERS technique. An LC-MS / MS technique was developed and validated for the analysis of acrylamide, which offers many advantages, reducing analysis costs. Street food samples that exceeded community-recognized benchmark levels were subjected to mitigation tests such as sous-vide cooking, modification of cooking times and temperatures etc. The results obtained verified the contents beyond the benchmark levels for courgette flowers, pretzels and wraps. The mitigation measures have resulted in decreases in acrylamide production during the different types of firing. The results resulting from the application of the mitigation measures will be useful to provide suggestions on the preparation of these products in order to guarantee a product with an ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) approach which, in the absence of a precise numerical reference, indicates a keep exposure to this contaminant as low as possible.
L’acrilammide è un composto organico, insaturo a basso peso molecolare. Esso si forma naturalmente durante la cottura ad alte temperature di alimenti amidacei ricchi di zuccheri riducenti ed amminoacidi come l’asparagina. L’International Agency for Research on Cancer, (IARC) ha classificato l'acrilammide come probabile carcinogeno umano, ovvero appartenente al gruppo 2A, in base alla sua cancerogenicità riscontrata nei roditori. Nel 2002, dei ricercatori svedesi hanno riscontrato la presenza di acrilammide in diversi alimenti ricchi di carboidrati trattati termicamente. Questa scoperta ha destato non poche preoccupazioni poiché l'acrilammide è presente negli alimenti in quantità considerevolmente più elevate rispetto ad altri noti agenti cancerogeni alimentari, come gli idrocarburi policiclici aromatici e il carbammato di etile. Gli attuali riscontri epidemiologici sulla presenza di acrilammide si concentrano maggiormente su prodotti industriali di largo consumo; non si hanno evidenze scientifiche invece per preparazioni gastronomiche tipiche come lo street food. Queste tipologie gastronomiche prevedono l’impiego di tecniche di cottura in grado di determinare una considerevole formazione di acrilammide. Inoltre, l’eterogeneità degli ingredienti impiegati per la preparazione di questi prodotti porta ad avere una maggiore attenzione sulla presenza di questa sostanza. Il presente progetto ha quindi fornito dei primi riscontri scientifici sulla presenza di acrilammide nello street food commercializzato in Italia attraverso la messa a punto e validazione di un metodo LC-MS/MS. Lo studio ha previsto la raccolta e produzione di campioni di street food provenienti da diverse parti d’Italia nonché prodotti di altre nazionalità comunemente consumati nel nostro territorio. I campioni raccolti e preparati sono stati estratti a seguito di diverse prove di ottimizzazione con tecnica QuEChERS. Per l’analisi dell’acrilammide è stata messa a punto e validata una tecnica LC-MS/MS, che offre molti vantaggi, riducendo i costi di analisi. I campioni di cibo di strada che hanno superato i benchmark levels riconosciuti a livello comunitario sono stati sottoposti a prove di mitigazione come la cottura sottovuoto, la modifica dei tempi e temperature di cottura etc. I risultati ottenuti hanno verificato dei tenori oltre i benchmark levels per i fiori di zucca, i brezel e le piadine. Le misure di mitigazione hanno apportato delle diminuzioni nella produzione di acrilammide durante le diverse tipologie di cottura. I risultati scaturiti dall’applicazione delle misure di mitigazione saranno utili a fornire dei suggerimenti sulla preparazione di questi prodotti al fine di garantire un prodotto avente un approccio ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) che, in assenza di un preciso riferimento numerico, indica di mantenere l’esposizione a questo contaminante ad un livello quanto più basso possibile.
Indagine sulla presenza di acrilammide nello street food commercializzato e prodotto in Italia ed applicazione di possibili misure di mitigazione / Vincenzo Ferrantelli , 2023 Apr 21. 35. ciclo, Anno Accademico 2021/2022.
Indagine sulla presenza di acrilammide nello street food commercializzato e prodotto in Italia ed applicazione di possibili misure di mitigazione.
FERRANTELLI, VINCENZO
2023
Abstract
Acrylamide is an organic, unsaturated compound with a low molecular weight. It forms naturally during cooking at high temperatures of starchy foods rich in reducing sugars and amino acids such as asparagine. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified acrylamide as a probable human carcinogen belonging to group 2A, based on its carcinogenicity found in rodents. In 2002, Swedish researchers found the presence of acrylamide in several heat-treated carbohydrate-rich foods. This discovery raised considerable concern as acrylamide is present in food in considerably higher quantities than other known food carcinogens, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and ethyl carbamate. Current epidemiological findings on the presence of acrylamide focus more on large-scale industrial products; on the other hand, there is no scientific evidence for typical gastronomic preparations such as street food. These gastronomic types involve the use of cooking techniques capable of determining a considerable formation of acrylamide. In addition, the heterogeneity of the ingredients used for the preparation of these products leads to have a greater focus on the presence of this substance. The present project has therefore provided the first scientific findings on the presence of acrylamide in street food marketed in Italy through the development and validation of an LC-MS / MS method. The study involved the collection and production of street food samples from different parts of Italy as well as products of other nationalities commonly consumed in our area. The collected and prepared samples were extracted following several optimization tests with the QuEChERS technique. An LC-MS / MS technique was developed and validated for the analysis of acrylamide, which offers many advantages, reducing analysis costs. Street food samples that exceeded community-recognized benchmark levels were subjected to mitigation tests such as sous-vide cooking, modification of cooking times and temperatures etc. The results obtained verified the contents beyond the benchmark levels for courgette flowers, pretzels and wraps. The mitigation measures have resulted in decreases in acrylamide production during the different types of firing. The results resulting from the application of the mitigation measures will be useful to provide suggestions on the preparation of these products in order to guarantee a product with an ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) approach which, in the absence of a precise numerical reference, indicates a keep exposure to this contaminant as low as possible.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
PhD thesis Ferrantelli XXXV cycle.pdf
embargo fino al 20/04/2026
Descrizione: Tesi definitiva Ferrantelli Vincenzo
Tipologia:
Tesi di dottorato
Dimensione
1.93 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
1.93 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri Richiedi una copia |
Pubblicazioni consigliate
I metadati presenti in IRIS UNIMORE sono rilasciati con licenza Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal, mentre i file delle pubblicazioni sono rilasciati con licenza Attribuzione 4.0 Internazionale (CC BY 4.0), salvo diversa indicazione.
In caso di violazione di copyright, contattare Supporto Iris