Acrylamide levels in cooked rice, tomato sauces and some fast food on the Italian market

This study reports the results of evaluation of acrylamide levels in some foods that are common on the Italian market. Three foods commonly found in the national diet (rice, tomato sauce and fast food), were examined with the gas chromatograph (GC)/mass spectrometer (MS) analytical method. Results show that rice differs from risotto with respect to acrylamide levels: values of less than 50 μg/kg, for boiled rice, increase to 113 μg/kg when various ingredients are added to produce risotto. Similar results were found for tomato sauce on the Italian market: acrylamide values were less than 50 μg/kg for simple tomato sauce, to 124 μg/kg when other ingredients such as olives and capers were added. Fast foods (e.g., fried potatoes) contained the highest observed acrylamide levels, probably from cooking methods and acrylamide-rich precursors. For two fried potatoes of the same type, very differentiated values resulted (136 and 294 μg/kg).