Acrilammide negli alimenti: proprietà, meccanismi di formazione, metodi di analisi e strategie volte a minimizzarne lo sviluppo

The recent discovery that cooking various foods at high temperatures results in the formation of high levels of acrylamide, has caused considerable concern because this compound has been classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. As a consequence, many researches, some of which financially supported by national and international organisms, have been started all over the world on the mechanisms of formation and the risks to consumers. Although much progress has been made in the last years on the knowledge of the mechanisms of acrylamide formation in foods, the role of different compositive and process variables on the formation of this molecule has not yet been fully understood. Based on the most recent literature data, the following pages deal with properties, methods of analysis, mechanisms, and kinetics of formation of acrylamide in foods as well as with the main technological strategies to reduce its formation.