Study of acrylamide formation in biscuits with dried and dehydrated fruits addition

Background: Dried and dehydrated fruits are often subjected to thermal treatments to improve their sensory properties and extend their shelf-life. However, such processes can lead to acrylamide (AA) formation, a potentially carcinogenic compound controlled by Reg. (EU) 2017/2158 and Rec. (EU) 2019/1888. These foods are often consumed as is or used as ingredients in various formulated foods, raising concerns about AA exposure. This study aimed to assess the impact of dried almonds, roasted pistachios, dehydrated apricots and plums as additional ingredients in biscuits on final AA concentrations. Although these ingredients are known to contain AA and precursors, their contribution to AA formation in a complex matrix is still unclear. Methods: Biscuit samples were prepared with 10% of the enrichment ingredients to mimic commercially available recipes. All enrichment ingredients, control and enriched biscuit samples were tested for AA concentrations by UHPLC-MS/MS and some quality parameters such as moisture, water activity, pH, colour and texture. Results: The results showed that the addition of the ingredients led to different AA levels, which were not always proportional to the AA content in the ingredients. The biscuits enriched with almonds, pistachios and apricots had an AA content of more than 350 ppb, which is the benchmark value set in Reg. (EU) 2017/2158. In contrast, the biscuits with plums had an AA content of 190.7 ppb, similar to the control biscuits. These ingredients affected some qualitative characteristics of the final products, which influenced the AA concentration of the biscuits in different ways. Conclusions: It can be concluded that it is difficult to accurately predict the final AA content in bakery products knowing only the AA concentration in the ingredients used; this is because other factors related to the general matrix properties must also be taken into account. This highlights the need to also monitor how the components in rich recipes react during the various processing steps.