Hidden risks on the plate: Dietary acrylamide exposure in students using university cafeteria

This study aimed to determine the acrylamide level in meals served to university students and to estimate their dietary acrylamide exposure using the duplicate diet method. 125 samples were collected from all meals served at lunch and dinner in the cafeteria for two weeks. Due to the semi-selective menu options, menus were categorized into two groups: "Menu-1" (soup, main dish, side dish, and third course) and "Menu-2" (soup, alternative dish, side dish, and third course). The acrylamide content of the samples was analyzed using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a device equipped with a diode array detector (DAD). Samples found to have acrylamide concentrations below the LOQ (<17.8 <mu>g/kg) were replaced with zero and LOQ values in the lower bound (LB) and upper bound (UB) scenarios, respectively. The margin of exposure (MOE) was used for long-term exposure estimation. A MOE value <125 indicated a potential concern for human health due to neurotoxic effects, while a MOE value <10,000 indicated a potential concern for carcinogenic effects. Total acrylamide exposure from Menu-1 and Menu-2 in the LB scenario was calculated as 0.6-0.7 mu g/kg/day for males and 0.7-0.8 mu g/kg/day for females, respectively. Total acrylamide exposure from Menu-1 and Menu-2 in the UB scenario was 1.1-1.1 mu g/kg/day for males and 1.3-1.4 mu g/kg/day for females, respectively. In conclusion, the current study showed that acrylamide exposure may be an important concern for food services. It can be minimized by training food service staff in food safety and choosing the correct preparation and cooking methods.