Evaluation of acrylamide in food from China by a LC/MS/MS method

Acrylamide is potential carcinogenic compound that possesses neurotoxicity activity. In this study, the levels of acrylamide in 123 selected food samples from China was evaluated using a LC/MS/MS method. One hundred and fifteen (115) out of 123 samples showed positive levels of acrylamide in the range of 0.41 to 4,126.26 µg/kg. Generally, the highest acrylamide levels were found in fried products, such as potato, prawn strips and rice crust, with average values of 604.27, 341.40, and 201.51 µg/kg, respectively. Heated protein-rich food also showed some acrylamide content (ranging from 2.31 to 78.57 µg/kg). The results revealed that a potential acrylamide public health risk occurred in processed snacks, as well as the food consumed daily. This study supplied new information on acrylamide content of a variety of heat-treated foods from China.