Method for reducing the amount of acrylamide during the heat treatment of foods with leavening effect

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for the significant reduction, through to the complete prevention, of the in-situ formation of acrylamide during the thermal production process of foods for example during baking, frying or deep-frying. According to the invention, a cost effective combination of two or more approved food additives are used that suppress the formation of acrylamide and at the same time function efficiently as a baking raising agent. The method can be carried out without the use of costly enzymes or vitamins.

Claims

1. A method of heat treating foods containing leavening agents by adding a combination of two or more food additives prior to the application of heat, wherein the food additives are selected from a combination of. (a) carbonates of multivalent cations as a first component; and (b) an acidic component.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the carbonates are selected from the group consisting of magnesium carbonate, calcium carbonate and mixtures thereof.

3. The method according to of claim 1, wherein the acidic component is selected from the group consisting of polycarboxylic acids, salts thereof or acidic salts of phosphoric acid and mixtures thereof.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the polycarboxylic acids are selected from the group consisting of malic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid, acid salts thereof of calcium, sodium or potassium, and mixtures thereof.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the acidic component is a salt of phosphoric acid.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the salt of phosphoric acid is selected from the group consisting of monosodium phosphate, disodium phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, monopotassium phosphate or dipotassium phosphate, and mixtures thereof.

7. The method according to of claim 1, wherein the food additive further comprises a carbonate of a monovalent cation.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the carbonate of the monovalent cation is selected from the group consisting of ammonium (bi)carbonate, sodium (bi)carbonate, potassium (bi)carbonate, and mixtures thereof.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein ammonium (bi)carbonate is used, the polycarboxylic acid or its acid salt derivatives, the acid phosphate salts and/or the ammonium (bi)carbonate are encapsulated in a fatty acid derivative.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the encapsulating substance is a food grade fatty acid or fatty acid ester having a melting range between 50 C. and 90 C. and is selected from food grade animal or vegetable fats or emulsifiers of the fatty acid ester type.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the food additive is formulated in a baking powder type premix and applied to the food during processing.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the foodstuff is selected from bakery products and baked snacks, in particular biscuits, biscuits, crackers, wafers, rusks and baked snacks, in particular with low moisture content; fried or roasted foodstuffs based on potatoes and/or cereals, in particular crisps, nachos, flips, cornflakes and other fried snacks or roasted cereals.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the food additive is applied in the processing of such foods prior to any thermal treatment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] In a first embodiment, the above problem is solved by a method of heat treating foods containing leavening agents by adding a combination of two or more food additives prior to the application of heat, wherein the food additives are selected from a combination of: [0022] (a) carbonates of multivalent cations as a first component; and [0023] (b) an acidic component.

[0024] There is thus provided a method for reducing the amount of acrylamide during heat treatment of leavening foods by combining two or more food additives, wherein the foods to be thermally treated are added prior to the application of heat, wherein the food additives are selected from a combination of (a) multivalent cationic carbonates as a first component and (b) an acidic component.

[0025] It was surprisingly found that substantially water-insoluble carbonates of divalent cations, such as calcium and/or magnesium carbonate, are very efficient in reducing the amount of acrylamide when combined with food additives of the acidity regulator class. Especially phosphoric or polycarboxylic acids and their acid salts should be mentioned here. When this combination is used, acrylamide concentrations in the thermally processed food are very low, while at the same time a desired leavening force is efficiently provided during processing by CO.sub.2 generated in situ.

[0026] Preferred examples of the acid components according to the present invention are phosphoric acid and acid salts thereof and/or polycarboxylic acids and derivatives thereof. Polycarboxylic acids in the sense of the present invention comprise organic acids having at least two carboxy groups. For example, for the purposes of the present invention, malic, fumaric, succinic, tartaric and/or citric acids and their acidic sodium, calcium, potassium or magnesium salts are useful. The term acidic salts refers to a partial neutralisation of the acid with the respective cation, leaving a residual amount of acid functionality compared to a fully neutralised salt.

[0027] When using the combination of the invention in a baking soda-like premix, the ratio of divalent carbonate to phosphorus derivative or polycarboxylate falls in the range of 90:10 to 10:90 weight percent, depending on the desired gas release and the desired acidity of the desired final product. In most cases, an optimal formulation falls within the range of 70:30 to 30:70 weight percent or even 60:40 to 40:60 weight percent range.

[0028] It is also optionally possible to combine one of the commonly used leavening agents, mentioned here being ammonium, sodium or potassium carbonates, with the above-mentioned combination according to the invention in situ or in a premix. In particular, when ammonium (bi)carbonate is used for a premix, the polycarboxylate or phosphoric acid derivative, if used, is preferably encapsulated, in particular by a fat or a fatty acid or a fatty acid ester derivative, in order to allow a stable formulation, without premature release of CO.sub.2 gas.

[0029] Suitable fats and fat derivatives, such as fatty acid esters, should have a melting range at which they are in the solid state at room temperature. The melting range suitable for use in encapsulation requires that the fat or fat derivative is solid at room temperature and melts during thermal treatment of the food. Melting ranges between 50 C. and 90 C. are preferred. Examples of such suitable materials are hardened vegetable oil, lard or food emulsifiers derived from fatty acids, such as mono- and diglycerides of edible fatty acids and their derivatives, as well as lactylates, polyglycerides or sorbitol esters. The inclusion of ammonium (bi)carbonate in a premix formulation is particularly useful as this compound provides the most cost effective leavening effect and decomposes completely to gases with leavening activity. Although ammonium (bi)carbonate normally increases the in situ formation of acrylamide in thermally processed foods, this effect does not occur in the context of the present invention, so that the disclosed process enables cost-effective leavening while effectively controlling acrylamide formation at very low levels.

[0030] Indeed, EU guidelines (EU 2017/2158) recommend, among other things, reformulation of bakery recipes avoiding ammonium (bi)carbonate as a measure to achieve acrylamide levels below 150 ppm in food. This limit is recommended for foods that can be used by young children. This level is considered safe for humans, including infants.

[0031] Dangerously high levels of acrylamide of over 1000 ppm are found in baked goods produced in industrial high temperature ovens, roasted coffee beans or fried foods such as crisps or French fries.

[0032] The present invention offers the possibility of achieving extremely low levels of acrylamide in potato or cereal based foods. It also offers the possibility of reducing the amount of acrylamide even when ammonium (bi)carbonate is used as a very cost-effective leavening agent. With sufficiently high dosage of the combination of, in particular, water-insoluble divalent metal carbonates with acidity regulators according to the invention, the acrylamide contents in thermally treated foods can even be brought below the detection limit for acrylamide.

[0033] The invention described above is illustrated by the following embodiments and comparative examples.

EXAMPLES

Comparative Example 1

[0034] Using a traditional Italian Cantuccini biscuit recipe, 1% by weight of ammonium (bi)carbonate (calculated on the weight of flour) was added as a leavening agent. The dough thus obtained after kneading was allowed to rise for one hour and then formed into elongated rolls and subjected to an initial baking process at 180 C. Sliceable, cake-like rolls with a light hue were obtained, which after cooling for 10 minutes were cut into the typical Cantuccini biscuit shape and baked a second time in the oven at 180 C. to obtain the desired final product.

[0035] The Cantuccini biscuits had the desired brownish colour, typical size, shape and taste, and a loosened biteable texture. The analysis showed that 280 ppm acrylamide had formed in situ, despite the relatively low baking temperature. This example shows that even at only moderately high temperatures, appreciably high levels of acrylamide form in situ in thermally treated dry foods.

Comparative Example 2

[0036] The Cantuccini biscuit recipe and process from Comparative Example 1 was used; however, instead of the 1 wt % ammonium (bi)carbonate dosage, 0.5 wt % ammonium and 0.5 wt % sodium (bi)carbonate were used as leavening agents. In addition, 200 ppm of Preveniasee, an asparaginase enzyme from Fina DSM B.V., was used.

[0037] The Cantuccini biscuits had the desired brownish colour, typical shape and flavour and a loosened biteable texture, but the total volume of the biscuits remained significantly below that of the biscuits from Comparative Example 1. The analysis showed that 110 ppm acrylamide had formed in the biscuits. The example shows that it is possible to reduce acrylamide by partially replacing ammonium (bi)carbonate with sodium (bi)carbonate in combination with the use of an expensive asparaginase enzyme, but the biscuit volume is smaller due to the less efficient leavening effect.

Example 1

[0038] The Cantuccini biscuit recipe and process of Comparative Example 1 was used, but instead of 1 wt % ammonium (bi)carbonate, 1 wt % of a formulation according to the invention consisting of 50 wt % magnesium carbonate and 50 wt % citric acid was used as leavening agent.

[0039] The Cantuccini biscuits had a slightly lighter brownish colour, typical shape and taste with almost the same volume as the biscuits from Comparative Example 1 and a loosened biteable texture. The analysis showed that less than 10 ppm acrylamide (below the detection limit of the analytical method used) had formed. The example shows that with the use of the present invention, it is not only possible to prevent the in s/ii/formation of acrylamide, but also to obtain a sufficient leavening effect without the use of ammonium (bi)carbonate.

Example 2

[0040] The Cantuccini biscuit recipe and process of Comparative Example 1 was used, but instead of 1 wt % ammonium bicarbonate, 0.5 wt % ammonium (bi)carbonate and 0.5 wt % of a formulation according to the invention consisting of 50 wt % magnesium carbonate and 50 wt % citric acid were used as leavening agents.

[0041] The Cantuccini biscuits had the desired brownish colour, typical size, shape and taste and a loosened biteable texture including a comparable biscuit volume to that of the Cantuccini biscuits from Comparative Example 1. The analysis showed that 90 ppm acrylamide had formed in situ. The example shows that using the present invention, it is possible to reduce the in situ formation of acrylamide in biscuits, even using cost effective ammonium (bi)carbonate as a leavening agent.

Example 3

[0042] The Cantuccini biscuit recipe and process of Comparative Example 1 was used, but instead of 1% by weight of ammonium (bi)carbonate, 1% of a formulation according to the invention consisting of 60% by weight of magnesium carbonate and 40% by weight of monocalcium phosphate was used as a leavening agent.

[0043] The Cantuccini biscuits had a slightly lighter brownish colour, typical shape and taste with the same volume as the biscuits of Example 1 and a loosened biteable texture. The analysis showed that less than 10 ppm acrylamide (below the detection limit of the analytical method used) had formed. The example shows that with the use of the present invention it is not only possible to reduce, even eliminate, the in situ formation of acrylamide in biscuits while maintaining good leavening functionality, even when the multiple acid is replaced by an acid salt derivative.

Example 4

[0044] Premixtures were formulated in the ratio of 50% by weight of ammonium (bi)carbonate with 50% by weight of a combination according to the invention as used in Examples 1 and 3. The resulting premixes were not stable even at room temperature and significant decomposition with gas evolution occurred within a few hours. When the formulation of the above premix was repeated with citric acid encapsulated in fat and with monocalcium phosphate encapsulated in fat, no noticeable gas formation was measured at room temperature.

[0045] The example shows that by encapsulating ammonium (bi)carbonate and the acidity regulator, a stable baking powder-like preparation of ammonium (bi)carbonate can be achieved with a formulation of a polycarboxylate and divalent cation carbonate.

Example 5

[0046] Using 1 wt. % of the two stable encapsulated premixes of Example 4 as a leavening agent in a butter biscuit recipe, acrylamide levels of 100 and 110 ppm were formed at a baking temperature of 230 C. A comparative test with 1 wt. % ammonium bicarbonate gave 310 ppm of acrylamide formed in situ with the otherwise same recipe and test set-up. All 3 tests resulted in butter biscuits with the same volume and shape. Only the biscuits baked with pure ammonium (bi)carbonate had a slightly darker colour.

[0047] This example shows that premixes with encapsulated acidity regulator, bivalent cation carbonate and ammonium (bi)carbonate provide excellent leavening effect while reducing acrylamide levels in thermally treated foods.

Comparative Example 3

[0048] Using the butter biscuit recipe of Example 3, 1 wt % ammonium (bi)carbonate was added as a leavening agent and 0.3 wt % calcium propionate, as a water-soluble divalent cation salt, as described elsewhere as prior art. This combination resulted in 300 ppm of in situ formed acrylamide in the biscuits, so no acrylamide reduction was achieved.

[0049] The same procedure was then repeated except that in addition to 1 wt % ammonium (bi)carbonate, 0.5 wt % citric acid was added in place of the divalent cation salt. This resulted in an acidic taste profile of the finished biscuit with an acrylamide content of 250 ppm formed in situ.

[0050] This shows that unlike the synergistic formulation disclosed in the present invention, divalent cationic soluble salts or acidity regulators alone cannot provide efficient acrylamide reduction in food.