Research: Asparaginase can reduce acrylamide in French fries

Using the asparaginase enzyme to treat French fries could reduce the formation of acrylamide by 60 per cent, a joint Chilean-Danish study has reported.

The study, published on-line in the journal Food Chemistry, weighs into the hot topic of acrylamide reduction in fried foods, and supports the efficacy of Novozymes' Acrylaway derived from Aspergillus oryzae, launched last year.

Lead author Franco Pedreschi from Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH) in collaboration with researchers from the University of Aarhus (Denmark), and the Technical University of Denmark, reports that treating the control strips with the solution reduced acrylamide formation by 30 per cent, while the blanched strips contained 60 per cent less acrylamide at the end of the frying process.

"Soaking of blanched potato strips (75 °C, 10 min) in an 10,000 ASNU/l asparaginase solution at 40 degrees Celsius for 20 minute is an effective way to reduce acrylamide formation after frying by reducing the amount of one of its important precursors such as asparagine,"wrote the researchers.