Analysis of acrylamide in food: dedicated to Professor Dr. Werner Baltes

Since the first discovery of the presence of acrylamide in a variety of food products in April 2002, numerous methods have been developed to determine the acrylamide monomer in heat-treated carbohydrate-rich food. These detection methods are mainly MS-based, coupled with a chromatographic step using LC or GC. The Food Chemistry Institute (LCI) of the Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI) therefore established a detection method by means of aqueous extraction plus a cleaning step and LC-MS/MS detection, making great efforts to ensure internal and external validation. Citing potato crisps as an example, we will in the following show how the German manufacturing companies have gone to great pains to reduce acrylamide levels in their products.