Food Biochemistry and Food Processing

560 Part V: Fruits, Vegetables, and Cereals

indicates that, for severe treatments inducing lysine
blockage higher than 30%, lysine loss is less rapid
than the increase in the FAST index. Thus, the fluo-
rimetric FAST method appears to be an interesting
alternative for evaluating nutritional damage in a
great variety of cereal-based products submitted to
heat treatment.

ACRYLAMIDE

Recent studies have reported the presence of acry-
lamide (2-propenamide), “a probably carcinogenic to
humans” compound (IARC 1994), in a number of fried
and oven-cooked foods (Riediker and Stadler 2003).
One of the possible mechanisms involved in acry-
lamide formation is the reaction betweenasparagine

and reducing sugars such as glucose or fructose via the

Maillard reaction (Mottram et al. 2002; Weisshaar and

Gutsche 2002). Since asparagine is a major amino acid

in cereals, the possible formation of acrylamide in

cereal-based foods should be considered.

Variable amounts of acrylamide have been found

in cereal-based foods such as bread, cookies, crack-

ers, biscuits, and breakfast cereals (Yoshida et al.

2002, Ono et al. 2003, Riediker and Stadler 2003,

Svensson et al. 2003, Delatour et al. 2004, Wenzl et

al. 2004, Taeymans et al. 2004).

MALTULOSE

Besides the Maillard reaction, isomerization of

reducing carbohydrates may take place during the

Figure 24.2.Anomeric forms of maltulose.