ACRYLAMIDE QUANTITATION AND QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF LOCALLY AVAILABLE BREADS IN CHATTOGRAM

Abstract

Bread is a frequently consumed ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast item all over the world. As being simple, cheap, and adaptable, bread is also consumed in Bangladesh at a good volume. Maillard reaction in bread manufacturing for the proper crust formation results in the emergence of a process contaminant namely acrylamide, which has already been established as a possible carcinogen and neurotoxin. Current study has been conducted to assess quality (nutritional and microbial) as well as acrylamide level of locally available breads in Chattogram, Bangladesh. Fifteen samples were collected for the study and analysis was done in HPLC to determine acrylamide concentrations in bread. Bread quality (nutritional and microbial) was assessed following standard methods of AOAC, APHA and ISO. The average level of acrylamide (297.3933 µg kg-1 or ppb) in the samples were quantified excessive high as compared to the quantitation carried out in other countries. Nutritional quality assessment scores showed varying food value parameters. Moisture, lipid (fat), crude protein, mineral (ash), crude fiber and carbohydrate of the samples ranged from 32.34%-40.25%, 4.31%-5.94%, 4.23%-5.65%, 1.056%-1.43%, 0.41%-4.3% and 44.11%-57.66% respectively. Most of the samples contained characteristic higher moisture, and higher carbohydrates. Crude protein, ash and crude fiber was present in very low quantity in all samples. Microbiological results showed significant level of total yeast and mold count, TBC, total coliform, Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. were found in all samples. Findings of this investigative study puts recommendation to conduct a wide range survey and analytical research to quantify acrylamide concentration and microbial load in other ready-to-eat food products (that has undergone thermal processing) mostly consumed in Bangladesh and to establish a national standard for bread mentioning authentic limits of nutritional quality parameters, microbiological parameters and acrylamide level