Determination of acrylamide levels in selected commercial and traditional foods in Syria

Purpose: To determine acrylamide (AA) levels in different brands of commercial and traditional foodstuffs available in Syria by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometery (UPLC-MS). Methods: A total of 63 samples were analyzed. Food samples were defatted by hexane and then extracted with methanol 98 % in a vortex mixer. Thereafter, Carrez I and Carrez II were added to precipitate proteins from the co-extractives and then centrifuged to obtain a clear aqueous extract that was evaporated to dryness. The extract was dissolved in 1 mL of water, eluted through a preconditioned Oasis HLB cartridge and then filtered. The filtrate was analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS to determine AA content. Results: Among the commercial foods tested, the highest acrylamide quantity was found in potato products (396 +/- 3.59 - 1844 +/- 5.29 mu g kg(-1)) and the lowest in corn products (183 +/- 2.64 - 366 +/- 4.58 mu g kg(-1)). This was followed by biscuits (57 +/- 2.64 - 1433 +/- 2.51 mu g kg(-1)), breakfast cereals (121 +/- 8.73 - 245 +/- 3.60 mu g kg(-1)), bread (119 +/- 1.73 - 263 +/- 3.60 mu g kg(-1)) and then coffee (113 +/- 2.64 - 64 +/- 3.05 mu g kg(-1)). Regarding traditional foods, the highest level of AA was found in AL-Mshabak (481 +/- 2.08 mu g kg(-1)) and AL-Awamat (421 +/- 2.64 mu g kg(-1)) followed by AL-Namora (282 +/- 4.35 mu g kg(-1)) and AL-Kenafa (242 +/- 2.64 mu g kg(-1)). It was also observed that the lowest amount of AA was in fried bread (230 mu g kg(-1)), AL-Fatayer (192 +/- 3.51 mu g kg(-1)) and AL-Baqlawa (172 +/- 4.35 mu g kg(-1)) while Eid Aqras (130 +/- 4.58 mu g kg(-1)) and AL-Brazeq (167 +/- 3.78 mu g kg(-1)) contained the least amount of AA. Conclusion: The results indicate that the highest levels of AA are found in the most commonly consumed foods. There was significant difference (p < 0.05) in AA levels among different food items and within different brands of the same product.