Use of Microbial Asparaginase to Mitigate Acrylamide Formation in Fried Food

Acrylamide or 2 - propenamide is an industrial chemical formed in some foods par ticularly starchy foods during heating process such as baking, frying and roasting. Acrylamide is present in significant quantities in carbohydrate rich foods such as Potato chips, French fries and Bakery products up to 7000 ppb followed by protein rich fo ods up to 400 ppb. In general, deep fat fried potato products, roasted coffee beans and bakery products are the most important sources of acrylamide. Acrylamide is proven to be carcinogenic in animals and a probable human carcinogen mainly formed in foods by the reaction of asparagine (free amino acid) with reducing sugars (glucose and fructose) as part of the Maillard reaction during heating under high temperature and low moisture conditions. The possible strategies of acrylamide reduction were grouped int o four categories i.e., selection of raw materials, changing formulation and product composition without affecting the taste and preferences of consumers, pre - treatment procedures and optimized processing conditions. The use of microbial L - asparaginase (LA ) is one of the alternative approaches for acrylamide reduction in food stuffs as it catalyzes the conversion of L - asparagine to L - aspartic acid and ammonia.