New yeast strain reduces acrylamide in food

Canadian Functional Technologies has developed a proprietary yeast strain that could cut the fermentation time of acrylamide andreduce it to undetectable levels within food.

Acrylamide is a suspected carcinogen that is formed during the cooking of starchy foods at high temperatures.

According to the company, the technology works by reducing the amount of asparagine that forms during fermentation and thereby reduces the levels of acrylamide in the finished product.

In a test conducted by the company, a dry mix was subjected to a two-hour fermentation process using the new yeast strain.

The test results revealed that the new strain was effective in reducing asparagine to undetectable levels, and through minor optimisation of processing parameters the company was able to cut the processing time required to reduce asparagine to one hour with a minimal adjustment to food processing protocols.

The concern about acrylamide’s potential danger to health was first raised in 2002, when Swedish scientists linked high levels of acrylamide in carbohydrate-rich foods to cancer in lab rats and, currently, several food processing protocols have been established to lower asparagine content in foods.