Investigation of acrylamide formation in some bakery products produced using pekmez and honey as sugar substitutes in their formulation

In this study, the formation of acrylamide in cake and cookie products produced using molasses or honey instead of sugar was investigated. In addition to the acrylamide analysis, pH, dry matter, water activity, texture, sugar, weight loss, swelling index and color analyzes were performed in the cake and cookie products produced. In addition, pH, water activity and color analysis of sample doughs were carried out. Acrylamide concentration in cake and cookie samples was determined by LC-MS/MS method. The amount of acrylamide in the control group remained below the limit of detection. It was determined that the amount of acrylamide increased with the increase of molasses in the formulation. Acrylamide amounts were determined 141.36±4.21 ng/g, 162.82±3.63 ng/g and 195.67±0.85 ng/g, with the increase of molasses in cake samples. In honey cake samples, the amount of acrylamide was below the detection limit. As a result of the acrylamide analysis of the cookie samples, it was determined that the amount of acrylamide increased with the increase of molasses or honey in the formulation. While the amount of acrylamide was determined 30.97±4.68 ng/g in the cookie control group, with the increase in the amount of molasses, the amount of acrylamide was detected 824.3±27.47 ng/g, 1274.04±7.59 ng/g and 1468.32±55.48 ng/g. The acrylamide amounts were determined 374.25±19.37 ng/g, 495.63±2.89 ng/g and 598.63±12.95 ng/g, with the increase in the amount of honey in the formulation. The highest amount of acrylamide was found in the cookie sample produced by replacing 100% of the sugar in the formulation with molasses. As a result, it has been determined that adding molasses or honey to these products in order to reduce the amount of refined sugar intake in bakery products such as cakes and cookies can significantly increase the amount of acrylamide in these products. Similar practices made to reduce refined sugar intake can increase the exposure of people who consume these products frequently to acrylamide, a toxic compound.