Acrylamide (AA) is a food contaminant in thermally processed products that is object of tight control. A simple and easy-to-apply methodology for routine monitoring of AA levels in food products could allow producers to be players in the control of their own products. In this work, a simple methodology for AA quantification without derivatization was developed for biscuits, for which the benchmark levels recommended by EFSA are 350 µg/kg, and 150 µg/kg for biscuits for infants and young children. Headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was used in 120 mL screwed-cap vials with a carboxen/polydimetylsiloxane fiber, 4 g of biscuits, and 10 mL of water during 15 min at room temperature under stirring. The addition of 30 mL of propanol under stirring during 15 min at room temperature and 15 min at 60 °C was used to promote AA transfer to the headspace. The fiber exposure was 45 min. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis allowed to obtain an external calibration curve at m/z 71, with linearity R² > 0.99 and precision RSD < 9%. The detection and quantification limits were 27.4 µg/kg and 91.5 µg/kg, respectively. The methodology was successfully used in biscuits with lower AA amount, where mitigation strategies (asparaginase or pectate) were applied.

Sea buckthorn pomace is a by-product of juice production, which is still rich in bioactive compounds. After drying, the pomace can be effectively used as a valuable addition to bakery products supporting their nutritional value. However, due to the high content of the amino acid asparagine in sea buckthorn, this promising material contributes to the undesirable formation of acrylamide. To reduce the risk from this potentially carcinogenic compound, enzymatic treatment of sea buckthorn with asparaginase was applied, which resulted in a substantial reduction of asparagine content from 1834 mg/kg in untreated dried sea buckthorn pomace to 89 mg/kg in enzymatically treated dried sea buckthorn pomace. 10% substitution of wholegrain cereal flour with enzymatically treated sea buckthorn pomace powder in rye and triticale biscuits resulted in a 35% reduction in acrylamide content, in the case of wholegrain wheat biscuits up to a 64% reduction, compared to biscuits with untreated sea buckthorn pomace powder. This study confirmed that treating fruit with asparaginase is an effective way to reduce health risk caused by acrylamide in biscuits enriched with nutritionally valuable fruit pomace.

In this study, the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of 19 honey samples from Poland and Slovakia were assessed and models describing the relationship between antioxidant activity and the determined physicochemical features were developed. All tested honeys met the regulatory criteria of EU standards for the content of water, hydroxymethylfurfural, and diastase activity. Honey samples from Poland and Slovakia had similar glucose-to-fructose ratios, but differences were observed in diastase activity, electrical conductivity, and antioxidant potential. Polish forest honey samples showed the highest antioxidant activity, and Polish rapeseed honey showed higher antioxidant potential than the Slovak honey. Color analysis showed a strong correlation (R² = 0.849) between the browning index and antioxidant capacity. Cluster analysis effectively distinguished honey types based on their chemical composition, although some sample overlap was attributed to environmental influences. Regression models identified key predictors of antioxidant potential, and polyphenol content evidenced by color parameters (a*, b*). This study provides valuable information on honey characteristics and demonstrates the feasibility of using statistical models to predict antioxidant properties.

Cereal biscuits are popular snacks of daily usage. Their nutritional value is enhanced if they are produced from wholegrain flour of nutritionally rich cereals and/or contain valuable natural sources of health promoting compounds. In this study, wholegrain flour from wheat, rye, and triticale (hybrid of wheat and rye) were used as a basis for biscuit production and dried sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) pomace as an additive for enhancement of their nutritional value. Besides nutritional benefits, sea buckthorn pomace addition increased hardness up to 37% and fracturability up to 30%, and moreover, an undesirable acrylamide formation was increased twice in case of wheat and triticale biscuits, and up to 4.5 times in rye biscuits. For diminishing the acrylamide formation, the asparaginase treatment of wet sea buckthorn pomace was applied which resulted in a substantial decrease of acrylamide (30 – 60%) in final biscuits. This intervention was examined in terms of the impact on textural properties of cereal biscuits with sea buckthorn pomace and with enzymatically treated sea buckthorn pomace. Despite expectations of negligible impact on quality properties of biscuits, texture analysis showed significant differences between cereal biscuits containing untreated and enzymatically treated sea buckthorn pomace reflected in a decrease of hardness and fracturability to original values in controls, at least. However, these alterations cannot be fully attributed to an enzymatic treatment of sea buckthorn pomace since the procedure of asparaginase application, including the adjustment of pH to neutral values, affected the properties of this additive. Descriptive sensory analysis and consumer acceptance test revealed significant preferences of triticale and rye biscuits with enzymatically treated sea buckthorn pomace addition.

The research aimed to investigate the variability of the acrylamide content in French potato fries depending on the type of oil and the length and conditions of deep-frying. Deep-frozen pre-fried potato French fries primarily intended for catering establishments were deep-fried parallel in two oils (multi-component oil and rapeseed oil) at the same conditions (175 °C/4 min and 200 °C/3 min) until the limit for total polar compounds (TPCs) content (24%) was reached. The samples were analysed immediately after removal from the package, after the first frying and when the TPCs was exceeded. High-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS/MS) was used to determine acrylamide. Mathematical and statistical evaluation of the results was according to the indicators of descriptive characteristics, i.e., arithmetic mean, standard deviation (SD), and coefficient of variation (%). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare groups, i.e., the assumption of agreement of variance was verified by the F test (F). All pairwise differences in means were tested using Tukey's HSD test (Honest Significantly Different) and Scheffe´s test. The critical value of α, compared to the standardized difference between the means, was established using our chosen risk of 5%. The highest acrylamide values were measured in samples deep-fried in rapeseed oil at 200 °C/3 min in sample 2b (451.13 µg/kg when deep-fried immediately) and in sample 2d (383.24 µg/kg after exceeding TPCs). The lowest values of acrylamide were found in samples deep-fried in multi-component oil at a temperature of 200 °C/3 min in sample 1d (183.35 µg/kg after exceeding TPCs) and at a temperature of 175 °C/4 min in sample 1c (240.75 µg/kg after exceeding TPCs). The decreased tendency of acrylamide in both types of oils and variants of temperature after exceeding TPCs compared to the state immediately after frying is confirmed for all samples. Potato-based products are a significant source of acrylamide production and subsequent consumption. Monitoring its presence in food is, therefore, an important legislative requirement.