Correlating Fryer Oil Quality to Acrylamide Content in French Fries

Acrylamide is a suspected carcinogen prevalent in fried foods, coffee, crackers, and a variety of other common food products. The browning or roasting of food products occurs at elevated temperatures leading to optimal conditions for the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction involving the heat induced reaction of amino acids with nitrogen containing side chains (Asn, Arg, and Lys) complexing to simple sugars, followed by degradation into acrylamide. We hypothesize that French fries cooked in vegetable oil that has degraded over time at high temperatures and exposure to repeated potato and water exposure will produce higher levels of acrylamide than potatoes cooked in fresh oil. To test this hypothesis, we will assess oil quality by analysis of four oil degradation determinants: (1) total polar materials, (2) polymerized triaglycerides, (3) free fatty acids, (4) anisidine. We will further evaluate the quantity of acrylamide produced during the frying process using NIR spectroscopy. Successful completion of this project will lead to correlation between fryer oil quality and acrylamide content to improve our understanding of best practices in food safety