ACRYLAMIDE LEVELS OF FAST FOOD PRODUCTS

Acrylamide is a carcinogenic contaminant found in foodstuffs from 2002. Acrylamide presence in a large number of popular foods has become one of the most difficult problems faced by the food industry and the supply chain. Food and food products that are cooked at high temperatures and have high carbohydrate and protein content cause acrylamide formation. Among the food products that are likely to form acrylamide, foods containing carbohydrates have found more research areas than other foods with high protein content. In this study, determination of acrylamide in these three different group foods (154 product) were examined using HPLC. Box-and-whisker graphics were used to determine the distribution of acrylamide content in food products and potential sources of variability that could explain variation of acrylamide. The highest acrylamide content among the fried potato products were observed in ready-made potato chips (536.21 g/kg; group mean 500±22.80). The lowest acrylamide content of meat and meat products group were determined among the 20 g/kg kokorec samples (group mean 26.40±5.03). The tulumba alone constitutes the most risky food product of cereal group with its 22.28% acrylamide content. In addition, dietary acrylamide intake was calculated for all food products. As a result, acrylamide prevention processes that threaten public health should be emphasized and necessary measures should be increased for food safety.