The voice of the European food and drink industry Robert Foot Potato Processing Sector.

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Robert Foot

Potato Processing Sector

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Acrylamide Levels in Potato Crisps in ppb

Date Range Average

Mid 2002 200 - 3400 950

June 2002 670 - 2000 1173

May 2003 270 - 1500 790

Aug – Dec 2002 (New Potatoes) 270 - 1900 786

Jan – July 2003 (Stored Potatoes) 330 - 1850 770

Aug – Dec 2003 (New Potatoes) 250 - 1100 515

Jan – July 2004 (Stored Potatoes) 320 - 1900 820

Acrylamide levels in French Fries in ppb

Type Date Range Average

Oven BakeJune 2002 490 - 490 490

May 2003 46 - 470 237

FriedJune 2002 330 - 480 393

May 2003 210 – 340 290

Acrylamide levels in Crisps & Fries

The voice of the European food and drink industry

1.500

1.000

500

0

2001 2002 2003 2004

Content of acrylamide in ppb

X

XX

X

X

Acrylamide reduction in Crisps

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Acrylamide in prepared French Fries, harvests 2001-2003

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

05-nov-01 13-feb-02 24-mei-02 01-sep-02 10-dec-02 20-mrt-03 28-jun-03 06-okt-03 14-jan-04 23-apr-04 01-aug-04 09-nov-04

Production date 2001-2004 (source UEITP)

Acr

ylam

ide

(mic

rog

ram

/kg

)

Reeks1

Lineair (Reeks1)

The voice of the European food and drink industry

The Acrylamide Toolbox

Contains 4 Sections:

1. Variety Selection

2. Storage management

3. Process Management

4. Final Preparation

Colour is the key factor

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Acrylamide in prepared French Fries, harvests 2001-2003

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Colour (Agtron value), source UEITP

Acr

ylam

ide

(mic

rog

ram

/kg

)

Reeks1

Lineair (Reeks1)

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Acrylamide and sugar levels

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Acrylamide in Crisps & French Fries

1. Variety Selection

The voice of the European food and drink industry

-500

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Agria Charlotte Desiree Eba Nicola Erntestolz Bintje LadyRosetta

Hermes Lady Claire Panda Saturna

Glu

co

se m

g/k

g

Belgium Germany Poland Spain Switzerland

Sugar levels and potato varieties

Domestic Use Varieties Crisp Industry Selected Varieties

Early Crop

Early Late Crop

Late Crop

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Variability of Acrylamide levels around the mean in potato chip manufacture by potato variety

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

9/19/02 12:00 AM 9/24/02 12:00 AM 9/29/02 12:00 AM 10/4/02 12:00 AM 10/9/02 12:00 AM

Date & Time

Acr

ylam

ide

/ pp

b

VARIETY 1

VARIETY1

VARIETY 2

+500

+400

+300

+200

+100

Mean

-100

-200

-300

-400

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Acrylamide in Crisps & French Fries

2. Storage Management

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Storage temperature effect on Acrylamide formation

Acrypom Project Universiteit Gent 2004

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Key Storage Management Considerations:

• Store potatoes around 8o Centigrade

• Controlled application of sprout suppressant

• Planned reconditioning of potatoes – conversion of sugars to starch

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Acrylamide in Crisps & French Fries

3. Process Management

The voice of the European food and drink industry

-50

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450G

luc

os

e m

g/k

g

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Co

ns

um

er P

refe

rred

Co

lou

r(N

orm

alis

ed

Co

lou

r Un

its A

bo

ve

Aim

)

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Reduction in sugar levels and effect on Colour

Sugar Content

Increasing Light Colour

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Acrylamide in Crisps & French Fries

4. Final preparation

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Acrylamide in Crisps & French FriesFinal Preparation

• Crisps– Produced to customer preferred colour – golden

yellow

• French Fries– Partly cooked – On-pack cooking instructions to consumer:

• time-temperature-portion size • max. cooking temperature (≤ 175 ºC)• cook to a golden yellow colour• do not overcook

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Acrylamide in Crisps & French Fries

• Summary:– Industry has adopted a practical approach based on the relationship

between product colour and acrylamide

– Tools used to control product colour

1. Variety Selection

2. Potato Storage

3. Process Management

4. Final Preparation

– Opportunity for further reductions limited – sugar levels could increase depending on crop year

– New potato varieties being developed – long term realisation

– New tools – asparagine control – enzymes, potato variety, others?

– Require support to accelerate the development of New Tools – potato development, agriculture studies, reduced time to allow regulatory approval.