Determination of acrylamide levels in chips/crisps on the Italian market and exposure risk assessment

Acrylamide is an important concern in the food industry because it can form during cooking at high temperatures of foods, mainly of vegetable origin, and rich in carbohydrates. In this study, we detected the acrylamide levels in chips/crisps from five brands available on the Italian market and performed the risk assessment related to the exposure to acrylamide through the consumption of chips/crisps. A total of 50 samples were prepared and the acrylamide levels were determined by HPLC. The mean acrylamide value was 1116.6 +/- 585 mu g/kg, and two out of five brands showed higher values. EDI values were between 0.172 and 0.901 mu g/kg bw/day. The LCR values ranged from 8.61 x 10-5 to 4.51 x 10-4. The THQ values were all below 1. The MOEc values ranged from 189 to 987 (mean 478), significantly lower than the 10000 threshold, indicating a potential carcinogenic risk. MOEn values ranged from 477 to 2496 (mean 1208), with values above 100 suggesting no neurotoxic risk. Further research is needed to suggest appropriate interventions to reduce acrylamide levels in foods.