Analysis of Maillard reaction precursors and secondary metabolites in Chilean potatoes and neoformed contaminants during frying

Abstract

Southern Chile native potatoes are an interesting raw material to produce novel snacks like colored potato chips. These novel products should be comprehensively evaluated for the presence of undesirable compounds such as acrylamide, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furan, the main neoformed contaminants in starchy rich fried foods. This study evaluated the neoformed contaminant levels and oil content on chips made from eleven Chilean potato accessions and compared them with commercial samples. The neoformed contaminant contents were related to Maillard reaction precursor levels (reducing sugars and asparagine) and secondary metabolites (phenolic compounds and carotenoids). Neoformed contaminants correlated well among them and were weakly correlated with reducing sugars and asparagine. Acrylamide level in native potato chips ranged from 738.2 to 1998.6 mu g kg- 1 while from 592.6 to 2390.5 mu g kg- 1 in commercial samples. Thus, there is need to implement neoformed contaminant mitigation strategies at different steps of the production chain of colored potato chips.