Reducing acrylamide exposure of consumers by a cereals supply-chain approach targeting asparagine

Acrylamide forms during industrial food processing and home cooking. For years, the cereals processing industry has been engaged in reducing acrylamide formation through production process optimisations and establishment of guidelines.
The 2017 EC Regulation on acrylamide sets benchmarks on acrylamide levels in food, which are considered to be either challenging or insufficient, depending on who is asked. However, if no drastic action is taken, future regulations may threaten the availability of cereals brands.

A new 4 year COST action, called ACRYRED has kicked-off this fall. ACRYRED’s challenge is to establish a multi-disciplinary research and communication network on reducing acrylamide formation, involving the entire value chain from grains to consumer products. If asparagine levels can be reduced through better varieties and farming practices, downstream acrylamide formation in cereals-based products could be reduced significantly. Workstreams will also include integration of knowledge on food chemistry and processing, the risk-benefit of Maillard reaction products, and the economic consequences of mitigation measures that may become available.

Join this webinar to hear more about the action, the partners involved and how you can sign up, from the project leader, Prof. Nigel Halford (Rothamsted Research).

The memorandum of understanding and management committee of ACRYRED can be found here.