The Effects of Different Cooking Conditions on the Level of Acrylamide in Popular West African Foods

Timothy O Akinosun, Delia Ojinnaka* and Amar Aouzelleg

• School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, Borough Road, London UK.

Received: March 1, 2021   Published: March 15, 2021

*Corresponding author: Delia Ojinnaka, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, Borough Road, London UK

DOI: 10.32474/SJFN.2021.03.000174

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Abstract

Acrylamide (AA) is a carcinogenic contaminant found commonly in thermally processed carbohydrate-rich foods. The subject is topical and widely researched but information on acrylamide in West African (WA) foods is sparse, hence the need to investigate acrylamide formation in popular WA foods. Potentiometric analysis based on ammonium ion selective electrode and immobilised acrylamide amidohydrolase was used. 150 samples were subjected to varying frying and baking regimes; 150 to 210 °C for 5 to 15 minutes. Generally, an independent T-test for equality of sample means at α = 0.05 showed no statistical significant difference (p ˃ 0.05) in acrylamide produced by baking and frying at the same temperature. However, the ANOVA indicated that increasing the baking and frying temperatures effectively raised the amount of acrylamide (p < 0.05). The lowest (25±8μg/kg) and highest (706±13μg/kg) concentration of acrylamide were in buns baked at 150 °C and plantain chips fried at 210 °C, respectively.

Keywords: Acrylamide; Ammonium-Ion Selective Electrode; Cooking Methods; Process Contaminants West African Foods