February 2020 - 22

In the fight against acrylamide, potatoes are out ahead
In the years
POTATOES USA
Ben Harris
Research
Associate Manager
following acrylamide's
infamous rise to
fame - helped
along by a lawsuit
leveled against four
fry and chip makers
- the industry
has risen to the
challenge and made
substantial headway
in addressing the
issue.1,2
All told, we've reached meaningful
reductions in acrylamide levels, the result
of concerted research and development
between breeders, growers and processors.3
The National Fry Processor Trials (NFPT),
overseen by Potatoes USA, is a program that
has fostered just these sorts of partnerships.
It also helped fundamentally shift the status
quo in potato breeding. In its March 2016
acrylamide guidance document found on
the Food and Drug Administration's website,
the FDA allows that while " development and
commercialization of new potato varieties
is a lengthy process, [it] may ultimately
provide the most effective solution for
acrylamide reduction. " 4
While the FDA's report offers no surefire
recommendation for fixing this protraction, the
NFPT, in a way, does. Through a multi-tiered
trial system that maximizes efficiencies and
minimizes costs, the program has effectively
halved the typical breeding timeline, allowing
for the discovery and advancement of new
varieties that tackle the acrylamide question.
Since the NFPT's inception in 2011, Potatoes
USA has worked closely with 12 leading
breeding institutions in the U.S. to amass
a large pool of genetic material, tapped
to create and commercialize clones that
demonstrate consistently lower acrylamide
than legacy varieties. Take the 2019
cohort of Tier 3 (final stage) NFPT clones
as an example: all nine potatoes registered
lower process (or " QSR " ) acrylamide levels
compared to the check, with the best of the
bunch producing fully 410 ppb less.
The NFPT has served to build the broad
coalitions and breeding network needed to
mitigate acrylamide. But it will take more than
the initiative of breeders and companies to
continue to chip away - no pun intended -
at acrylamide. Countless others outside of
NFPT play an equal if not greater role in this
collective effort. For one, the degree to which
a crop is predisposed to the chemical is in
large part for growers to determine. Studies
have shown that optimal tuber maturity has
a strong influence on reducing sugars, the
primary culprits in acrylamide synthesis.5
This means that management decisions
that may affect maturation - from irrigation
and fertilizer application to planting date -
control not only yield and quality at harvest
time, but also the chemical reactions that
occur, much later, in the fryer.6
As far as our industry's response to
acrylamide goes, there is much to take
pride in. Though the FDA never laid out
mandatory practices, nor set maximum
allowable levels for the chemical, we've
opted to confront the problem head on
and, by and large, we've succeeded in
doing so. Sure, there's work still to be
done, but sit back and savor what's already
been accomplished.
If anything, it should make whatever
potato dish you choose for the dinner table
this year all the more satisfying.
REFERENCES
1
Whitcomb, D. (2008, August 1). California
AG says settles potato chip lawsuit. Reuters
2
Bomgardner, M. M. (2019). How ingredient
makers are getting acrylamide out of
foods. Chemical & Engineering News, 97(35).
3
FDA survey data on acrylamide in food.
(2019 Sept. 27).
4
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2016,
March). Guidance for Industry: Acrylamide
in Foods. Retrieved December 2019, from
fda.gov
5
Biedermann-Brem, S. et al. (2003). How
much reducing sugar may potatoes contain
to avoid excessive acrylamide formation
during roasting and baking? European Food
Research and Technology, 217, 369-373.
6
U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
(2016, March).
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February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2020
