## 5 Possibilities of Reducing the Acrylamide Content in French Fries and Potato Chips
### Technological Factors
#### 5.2.2 Blanching of Potato Pieces  
Blanching is one of the most frequently modified stages, in which the temperature and time of the process can be appropriately selected [2; 11; 98; 99], leading to a favorable extraction of reducing sugars and asparagine from the surface of potato pieces [98; 100]. Asparagine (the most abundant of the group of free amino acids contained in potatoes), is the second most important reagent responsible for AA formation [101]. Its content in the tubers is relatively high, but it is not the main factor limiting the amount of acrylamide formed, as it is in cereals [63]. Despite this, various studies have been conducted on the possibility of reducing the amount of asparagine in potatoes. These involved the use of the enzyme asparagine (E.C 3.5.1.1) obtained from _Aspergillus oryzae_, which catalyzes the breakdown of the amino acid asparagine to ammonia and aspartic acid, as a result of which asparagine does not participate in the formation of AA [29; 48; 52; 78; 102]. Blanched potato strips were dipped in a solution of 10,000 ASNU/1 asparagine (at 40 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 20 min), which contributed to the reduction of acrylamide in ready French fries by about 60%, by reducing the amount of asparagine in potato pieces [78]. [PERSON] et al. [52] emphasize that using the asparagine enzyme has the advantage of reducing the amount of acrylamide and it also does not degrade the quality of the ready product, including its color and taste. Based on the possibility of using the enzyme asparginase (E.C 3.5.1.1 obtained from _Aspergillus oryzae_) to reduce the amount of AA in snack products (French fries and potato chips), further research was conducted in this area. [PERSON] et al. [103] used the L-asparaginase enzyme CCT 3940 (from _Aspergillus oryzae_) to reduce AA and found that the amount of the toxic compound in French fries was reduced by about 72%. The use of the enzyme L-asparaginase (E.C 3.5.1.1) as a solution for reducing the amount of the toxic compound in ready products was also observed by [PERSON] et al. [104]. Whereas the authors [PERSON] et al. [105] used a novel L-asparaginase gene (CobAsnase) from halotolerant Cobetia amphileietti AM16, cloned and over-expressed in Escherichia coli, in which potato slices were dipped before frying. After the use of this enzyme, a reduction of approximately 81% in AA content was observed in the potato chips compared to the control sample (without enzyme). A study was also conducted using a novel bacterial type II 1-asparaginase, abASNase2, from _Aquabac-terium sp._ A7-Y, in the production of French fries and found that the enzyme had the effect of reducing the amount of acrylamide in the ready snacks by approximately 88%, compared to samples obtained without the enzyme [106]. In the study, the authors [PERSON] et al. [107] showed that the use of the purified asparaginase enzyme from endophytic _P. oryzaehibitans_ bacteria, isolated from _H. rosa-sinensis_, in the production of fried potato pieces had the effect of reducing the amount of toxic AA by about 90% compared to the control sample. Various types of additives for blanching solutions may also be used, e.g., the addition of monovalent and divalent ions (Na\({}^{+}\), Ca\({}^{++}\), Mg\({}^{++}\)). The addition of calcium and sodium chloride to the blanching solution reduced the amount of AA in French fries, by about 95% and 57%, respectively, compared to the control sample [108], and in chips by about 85% and even 90%, without compromising the texture and color of the product [78]. Research was also conducted on the possibility of using an amino acid other than asparagine for blanching. In a study by the authors [PERSON] et al. [99], the addition of glycine and lysine reduced the amount of acrylamide in snacks by about 85% on average. On the other hand, the addition of glycine and glutamine resulted in an approximately 30% reduction in AA content in model tests, but no effect of the addition of these amino acids on the reduction of the compound in French fries was found [109].