Influence of agronomic factors and extraction rate on the acrylamide contents in yeast-leavened breads

Because the impact of agronomical factors on bakery products quality is still an insufficiently studied field, acrylamide contents of breads produced from flours of nine wheat, two rye, and two spelt varieties harvested in 2003 and 2004 were investigated. It could be demonstrated that acrylamide content in bread strongly depends on the cultivar, with extremes differing by a factor of 5.4 due to marked differences in free asparagine and crude protein contents. Nitrogen fertilization also resulted in elevated amino acid and protein contents, thus increasing acrylamide levels from 10.6 to 55.6 mug/kg. Independent of fertilization, harvest year turned out to be another factor influencing acrylamide formation. Breads produced from 2003 flours showed significantly higher acrylamide contents than those of 2004, which was ascribed to favorable light and temperature conditions during the cultivation period, thus enhancing amino acid and protein contents. Sprouting of the grain also resulted in significantly higher acrylamide levels, which was attributed to elevated enzyme activities and the formation of precursors from protein and starch. Furthermore, bakery products made from flours with higher extraction rates were shown to contain higher acrylamide levels resulting from extracted free asparagine and protein from the aleuron layers of the cereal grain.