Food News

Although it goes without saying that our accredited laboratories achieve excellent results in international interlaboratory tests, we are still delighted every time our colleagues receive official confirmation of their expertise.

AGROLAB LUFA has been achieving top marks in interlaboratory tests for the determination of acrylamide in food for decades. Acrylamide is an undesirable by-product of the Maillard reaction, which can occur as a result of unfavourable processing conditions during the production of certain foods. When high heat, carbohydrates and amino acids (especially asparagine) come together, the carcinogenic acrylamide can form as an undesirable by-product of the Maillard reaction. On the other hand, this complex chemical reaction is also responsible for the irresistible roasted aromas that we enjoy so much in a Sunday roast or the smell of freshly baked bread. In the EU, there are legal restrictions on the maximum levels of this contaminant in numerous products, such as fried or roasted potato products, coffee, rusks, biscuits and crispbread. Determining the acrylamide content is a routine test in food quality control for products where the production process carries an increased risk of this undesirable reaction product forming.

YOUR PLUS: AGROLAB LUFA has not only successfully completed the latest laboratory comparison test ‘Acrylamide in vegetable crisps’ organised by the European Union Reference Laboratory for Processing Contaminants (EURL-PC), but also achieved excellent results.

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger, AGROLAB GROUP