Reducing acrylamide

Reduce acrylamide levels in your baked goods and comply with regulations

child eating biscuits with reduced acrylamide levels

Growing consumer awareness of acrylamide risks

More and more consumers are becoming aware of the potential risks of acrylamide in food. That’s partly a result of increasing legislative activity around acrylamide. Both the USFDA and the EU warn that acrylamide may have carcinogenic effects. In the US, acrylamide is on the the State of California’s proposition 65 list. In Europe a wide range of foods are subject to acrylamide monitoring under a benchmarking system.

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Reduce acrylamide in baked goods

Reduce acrylamide in breakfast cereals

Listen to RoStar's experience with acrylamide reduction

See how RoStar has started using Acrylaway^® in their biscuit production to create healthier products. They list the main advantages as:

Easy to apply and no need for changes in production setup
Does not affect taste or texture in the biscuits
Gives them peace of mind and builds consumer trust

Acrylamide in baked goods

Acrylamide is a suspected carcinogen that forms naturally in a range of cooking processes, including baking.

The Maillard reaction gives baked goods their golden crust and delicious flavor. But it also leads to the formation of acrylamide. Find out how acrylamide forms in baked goods, and how to prevent it.

Acrylamide in the EU – proposed maximum limits

The European Union’s benchmarking system requires producers to aim for As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) acrylamide levels. If your products exceed their benchmark, you need to review your mitigation measures and aim for lower levels.

Regulation currently under consideration would also introduce maximum limits. If your products exceed those limits, it’s likely that you’ll have to stop marketing them. They could even be recalled. So if the regulation passes, there will be additional demands on your process to control and reduce acrylamide.

Check your products’ compliance

To help you anticipate legislation and future-proof your products, we’ve launched a compliance tool and product finder. The compliance tool doesn’t just include current benchmark levels. It also allows you to check your products against proposed new EU benchmarks and maximum limits. Then it guides you to the right Acrylaway^® solution to keep your products in compliance.

Acrylaway^® products don’t impact final product taste and texture. That makes them ideal solutions for mitigating acrylamide levels in a consistent way, so you can meet the demands of health-conscious consumers and retailers.

The compliance tool and our Acrylaway^® range make compliance simpler, save time and give you peace of mind.

Start checking

More baked goods being monitored

As well as this potential tightening of legislations, the EU recently broadened the list of baked goods to be monitored. The full list now includes pita and specialty breads, pancakes, tortillas, churros, doughnuts and croissants. It also covers a wide range of rolls, including hamburger and whole wheat rolls.

A growing focus on childrens’ exposure to acrylamide

Children, infants and toddlers have lower body weight and higher metabolisms. That makes legislators especially concerned about their exposure to acrylamide. European Parliament members recently asked the European Commission to lower the proposed maximum level for biscuits and rusks for infants. Often, parents give their children biscuits and rusks not specifically marketed for children. MEPs also asked that these products be subject to the same maximum levels. Explore the product finder below for solutions to mitigate acrylamide in a range of baby foods.

Making acrylamide reduction easier in a broad range of baked products

The FoodDrinkEurope’s acrylamide toolbox, created with the support of the European Commission, can help with correct implementation of EU regulations. Many producers also rely on Acrylaway^® products to achieve lower acrylamide levels and meet the demands of health conscious consumers. Products in the Acrylaway^® family are ideal for mitigating acrylamide levels in a consistent way.

Keeping you well beyond compliance

By reducing acrylamide formation by up to 95%, Acrylaway^® products keep you well beyond compliance. They’ll help you achieve compliance without changing the taste, smell, mouth feel or appearance of a broad range of products. These include grain-based snacks such as cookies and biscuits, crackers, crisp and toasted breads, and dough-based snacks. Products in the Acrylaway^® family are suited to liquid, gluten-free, high-temperature and a wide range of other processes. They can also be optimized for specific process parameters including dosage, temperature and holding time.

Get expert advice on EU acrylamide legislation

Watch our webinar to find out what impact the legislative activity in EU has on your baked goods. The panel also shares a simple, efficient way to check your products’ compliance and let you know what steps you can take to go well beyond compliance in a broad range of applications. The webinar is hosted by Univar Solutions.

Watch webinar

Which solution is right for you?

Find the right solution for you in our global portfolio, shown below. To find out more about products available in your region, get in touch with your local Novozymes representative.