Formation of acrylamide in commercially available plant-based meat alternatives during domestic cooking

The formation and occurrence of acrylamide in carbohydrate-rich foods has been extensively studied over the course of the past few decades. However, the emergence of plant-based meat alternatives presents a new challenge in this field. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of acrylamide in commercially available plant-based meat alternatives before and after heat treatment. Trace levels of acrylamide were detected in all samples before heat-treatment, while the concentrations increased in 11 samples out of 16 after heat-treatment. The highest concentration of acrylamide increased from 65.7 ± 6.6 µg kg⁻¹ before to 119 ± 12 µg kg⁻¹ after heat-treatment. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that besides macronutrient composition, the use of additives and processing techniques have a strong influence on acrylamide formation in plant-based meat alternatives. The latter was supported by the analysis of self-made meat alternative models that were prepared using only the base ingredients.近数十年来，学界已对高碳水化合物食品中丙烯酰胺（acrylamide）的生成与存在情况开展了大量研究。然而，植物基肉类替代品（plant-based meat alternatives）的出现为该领域带来了全新的研究挑战。本研究旨在评估市售植物基肉类替代品在热处理前后的丙烯酰胺含量水平。所有热处理前的样品中均检出痕量丙烯酰胺，而16份样品中有11份在热处理后丙烯酰胺浓度出现上升。最高丙烯酰胺浓度由热处理前的65.7±6.6 µg·kg⁻¹升至热处理后的119±12 µg·kg⁻¹。主成分分析（Principal Component Analysis, PCA）结果显示，除宏量营养素组成外，添加剂的使用与加工工艺对植物基肉类替代品中丙烯酰胺的生成具有显著影响。该结论亦可通过仅采用基础原料制备的自制肉类替代品模型的分析得到佐证。