Assessment of the risk of acrylamide to consumers healh and measures to reduce its presence in foodstuffs
Authors: Adamchuk Tamila , Makarova Olga , Grynko Alla , Yevtushenko Tetiana , Mykhailov Volodimir 
Published: January 2025

The quantitative approach to identify chemical substances, including acrylamide, in foodstuffs is considered to be a key tool for a well-grounded assessment of their risk to consumers' health as well as a quality control criterion which enables food business operators to develop measures aimed at reducing the presence of dangerous contaminants in food products.
Aim. Consolidation of the results of implementation of the original analytical method to identify acrylamide in foodstuffs.
Materials and Methods. Samples of food products have been tested for acrylamide presence; Shimadzu LC-30A liquid chromatograph and LCMS-8050 mass detector have been used.
Results. The EU has recently added many new foodstuffs to its system of monitoring for the presence of acrylamide and is considering a new regulation on acrylamide levels which will introduce maximum restrictions for the EU member states. The level of acrylamide in foodstuffs can be reduced by implementing production procedures based on the principles of hazard analysis and critical control points, which would include monitoring the implementation of the main mitigation measures aimed at reducing the presence of acrylamide as set out in Regulation (EU) 2017/ 2158. As evidenced in practice, the main ways to reduce the presence of acrylamide in foods are the use of raw materials with low levels of substances – precursors of acrylamide, as well as optimization of the technological process by means of proper heat input (combination of time and temperature), or the use of alternative production technologies. Today in Ukraine, the issue of monitoring the presence of acrylamide is not on the agenda and it is not regulated at the legislative level. But, as can be seen from the appeals to our Research and Testing Centre of Toxicology, domestic manufacturers have already started testing their products for the presence of acrylamide, especially those intended for export to the European countries. In the Research and Testing Centre of Toxicology, the HPLC-MS/MS method is used to test food products for acrylamide presence. According to the research results, acrylamide presence exceeded benchmark levels significantly in the samples of shortbread biscuits, sugar biscuits, and potato crisps. Taking into account the conditions for the formation of acrylamide in food products, the recipes of biscuits and potato crisps and the peculiarities of the technological process of their production, it can be assumed that the accumulation of acrylamide in these foodstuffs occurs as a result of their heat treatment (a combination of time and temperature) and due to the presence of ingredients – precursors of acrylamide (wheat flour, reducing sugars, baking powder ammonium bicarbonate, asparagine, etc.) in the recipe.
Conclusions. Today in Ukraine, it is urgent to designate a competent authority responsible for monitoring the presence of acrylamide in foodstuffs and informing food business operators about the procedures for reducing its levels, which will enable to ensure the production of safe and competitive food products both on the domestic and European markets.
Keywords: acrylamide, safety, mitigation measures, benchmark levels.