Potato Grower

January 2017

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WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 87 142583EZTarp16v.indd 1 12/10/14 9:04 AM 147381TUVen16v 1 7/10/14 4:37 PM Scientists have developed a method to quickly estimate the amount of acrylamide, a potential carcinogen, in french fried potatoes. "We analyzed the data obtained from both the analytical chemistry technique and NIRS," Johanningsmeier says. "We then developed a model relating the NIRS output to the amount of acrylamide in the french fries, showing that we could rapidly estimate the acrylamide content using the NIRS technology, which is also less expensive than the standard analytical chemistry methods." "This gives us a predictive model," says Truong. "Food processors typically pay about $250 per sample to have french fries or other products analyzed for acrylamide. With the NIRS method, the cost would not be more than $25 per sample. Potato breeders and processors would like to have a quicker, less expensive method to test acrylamide levels." To test new varieties for acrylamide, breeders grow them, make them into french fries, run a sample through a NIRS scan, and use the predictive calibration model to determine how much acrylamide is formed in each variety, Johanningsmeier explains. Breeders could then remove varieties with high acrylamide levels and keep those that have low acrylamide levels. This NIRS method has been extended to sweet potato breeding and processing research for developing low-acrylamide fried products for many major potato chip and french fry processors. "With the NIRS technique, breeders can quickly evaluate large numbers of potato hybrids for potential acrylamide formation, facilitating breeding research and providing a substantial benefit to the industry," Johanningsmeier says. This article originally appeared in the November 2016 issue of USDA-ARS's AgResearch magazine.

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