Determination of acrylamide in dried fruits and edible seeds using QuEChERS extraction and LC separation with MS detection

Publication date: 15 February 2017 Source:Food Chemistry, Volume 217 Author(s): Eleonora Laura De Paola, Giuseppe Montevecchi, Francesca Masino, Davide Garbini, Martino Barbanera, Andrea Antonelli Acrylamide is a carcinogenic and neurotoxic process contaminant that is generated from food components during heat treatment, while it is absent in raw foodstuffs. Its level in food arouses great concern. A method for acrylamide extraction and determination in dried fruits (dried prunes and raisins) and edible seeds (almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts) using a QuEChERS-LC-ESI-MS-Triple Quadrupole approach was set up. Linearity, sensitivity, accuracy, and precision of the method were satisfactory. Dried prunes and peanuts were the only samples appreciably contaminated, 14.7–124.3 and 10.0–42.9μg/kg, respectively, as a consequence of the drying process. In fact, prunes are dried at 70–80°C for a quite long time (24–36h), while peanuts undergo a roasting process at 160–180°C for 25–30min. The relative standard deviations, accuracy, LOD, and LOQ show that the method provides a reliable approach to acrylamide determination in different matrices.
Source: Food Chemistry - Category: Food Science Source Type: research