Acrylamide concentrations in three sweet potato cultivars subjected to different thermal treatments and cuttings

Considering the increase in the consumption of vegetable chips in recent years, the evaluation of the acrylamide content in these products has become necessary. In this sense, this study aimed to analyze the acrylamide levels in snacks made from three sweet potato cultivars (BRS-Rubissol, BRS-Beauregard and BRS-Anembé), using different processing methods (deep-frying, baking and air frying) and cuts (sticks, chips and “palha”), besides the concentrations of acrylamide precursors in the raw material and color of the final products. Reducing sugars and L-asparagine were determined through enzyme-based UV absorption while acrylamide was evaluated employing LC-MS/MS and color parameters were measured using the CIELAB system (L*, a*, b*). The results demonstrated that reducing sugar contents were significantly higher in cultivars with colored pulps (BRS-Beauregard and BRS-Anembé), for which the highest acrylamide formation rates were also observed. Among the processing methods, the use of air fryer combined with chips cutting resulted in the highest levels of acrylamide (BRS-Rubissol: 5977 µg/kg; BRS-Beauregard: 10,805 µg/kg; BRS-Anembé: 7163 µg/kg). In contrast, deep-frying and the stick format presented the lowest concentrations of this contaminant in the BRS-Rubissol cultivar (57 µg/kg). We conclude that the selection of cultivar, processing method and type of cut can be considered critical factors for the formation of acrylamide in sweet potato snacks . • Acrylamide levels in fried, baked and air fried sweet potatoes are provided. • Air frying chips formed the highest acrylamide levels in sweet potatoes. • BRS-Beauregard showed the highest acrylamide formation due to sugar content. • Deep-frying sticks resulted in the lowest acrylamide in BRS-Rubissol. • Cultivar, processing, and cutting are key factors for acrylamide formation.