Abstract
The formation and occurrence of acrylamide in carbohydrate-rich foods has been extensively studied over the course of the past few decades. However, the emergence of plant-based meat alternatives presents a new challenge in this field. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of acrylamide in commercially available plant-based meat alternatives before and after heat treatment. Trace levels of acrylamide were detected in all samples before heat-treatment, while the concentrations increased in 11 samples out of 16 after heat-treatment. The highest concentration of acrylamide increased from 65.7 ± 6.6 µg kg-1 before to 119 ± 12 µg kg-1 after heat-treatment. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that besides macronutrient composition, the use of additives and processing techniques have a strong influence on acrylamide formation in plant-based meat alternatives. The latter was supported by the analysis of self-made meat alternative models that were prepared using only the base ingredients.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Food Additives and Contaminants - Part A |
Number of pages | 16 |
ISSN | 1944-0049 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Accepted/In press - 2025 |
Keywords
- Plant-based meat alternatives
- Processing contaminants
- Acrylamide
- Free amino acids
- Carbohydrates