Acrylamide mitigation and 2,4-decadienal elimination in potato-crisps using L-proline accompanied by modified processing conditions

Presence of toxic compounds such as acrylamide and 2,4-decadienal in fried products are dependent on frying temperature and time and the frying oil. Combination treatments such as aqueous pre-treatments of potato slices prior to frying; addition of L-proline to pre-treated samples; moisture reduction of samples pre-frying, replacement of refined soybean oil by deodorized-virgin-coconut oil (DVCO) as frying medium; and modification of frying time-temperature regime, were implemented to mitigate acrylamide and 2,4-decadienal in fried potato-crips, concomitantly enhancing their organoleptic quality. Based on similarity values of % acrylamide mitigation, experimental conditions were classified into four main clusters and the optimized conditions of the combination treatments obtained by central composite rotatable design were: blanching at 70 degrees C for 20 min; addition of 2% L-proline to pre-treated potato slices; and deep-frying in DVCO under modified frying conditions (140 degrees C, 5 min) successfully alleviated acrylamide ( similar to 99%) (confirmed by HR-MS and quantified by RP-HPLC) and 2,4-decadienal (quantified by RP-HPLC) in the fried potato-crisps, improving them sensorically. High Pearson's correlation co-efficient (r = 0.9955) was obtained between sensory scores and texture profile analyses data of the fried crisps. This mitigation strategy can be successfully extrapolated to industrial-scale frying for enhanced safety and sensory appeal of fried products.

Automated summary

The presence of toxic compounds in fried products can be reduced by various combination treatments, which also improve the sensory quality of the products. The optimized conditions include blanching at 70 degrees C for 20 min, addition of 2% L-proline to pre-treated potato slices, and deep-frying in DVCO under modified frying conditions (140 degrees C, 5 min).