A gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry has been developed and validated for the separation, detection, identification and quantification of acrylamide in bread, biscuits and similar products. The method showed good precision with values lower than 6%. A good sensitivity was achieved for bread with 2.41 and 7.23 µg kg -1 limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ), respectively, while for biscuits, LOD and LOQ were 4.63 and 13.89 µg kg -1 , respectively. Accuracy obtained through the bias of 2 certified reference materials ("crisp bread -ERM ® -BD272" and "rusk -ERM ® -BD274") gave a value below 1.68-2.52%. The method was applied by analyzing 49 types of bread, biscuits and other similar products. The results showed different levels of acrylamide in bread (values ranged between 7.6 and 165.6 µg kg -1 ), biscuits (between LOD and 2405.0 µg kg ).

The aim of this work was to develop an analytical method for determining acrylamide in potato-based products by gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS/MS) using solid-phase extraction (SPE) clean-up. Different conditions for extraction and clean-up of AA extracts were studied on a potato crisps reference material (RM) with the value of 625 ± 45 μg/kg: the solvent volume used for AA elution, the extraction water temperature, the volume of hexane used, and also the addition of Carrez solutions. The SPE cartridge sorbents contain silica-based C-18 groups (anion and cation exchangers) and polymers (polystyrene-divinylbenzene). After SPE clean-up, extracts were derivatized with bromine compounds. A good efficiency for AA extraction and a cleaned-up extract from this matrix were obtained when the SPE procedure was carried out with water at room temperature, simultaneous with hexane, without Carrez solutions, by using two types of SPE cartridges (Isolute Multimode; Isolute ENV+), and 5 mL of elution solvent. The SPE clean-up procedure functionality was demonstrated by the results obtained in the Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme proficiency test (z-score: −0.8) on French fries (precooked) matrix and also by comparative analysis with a laboratory procedure, validated and accredited on cereal-based food matrices, in which liquid–liquid extraction and clean-up through a florisil column were realized (RSD(R) = 2.23–5.10%).

The chemical group comprising polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has received prolonged evaluation and scrutiny in the past several decades. PAHs are ubiquitous carcinogenic pollutants and pose a significant threat to human health through their environmental prevalence and distribution. Regardless of their origin, natural or anthropogenic, PAHs generally stem from the incomplete combustion of organic materials. Dietary intake, one of the main routes of human exposure to PAHs, is modulated by pre-existing food contamination (air, water, soil) and their formation and accumulation during food processing. To this end, processing techniques and cooking options entailing thermal treatment carry additional weight in determining the PAH levels in the final product. With the background provided, this study aims to provide an improved understanding of PAH occurrence in meat, edible oils, and cereal products. The factors influencing PAH formation, including operational conditions and parameters, product composition, and storage settings, are described. The discussion also addresses reduction directions with respect to influencing factors informing the choice of the employed technique, fuel type, time–temperature settings, and ingredient variations. Considering the disparities caused by wide variations in PAH contamination, challenges associated with PAH control requirements are also outlined in the context of relevant preventive approaches during food processing.

In the recent years, evidence has been accumulated about the beneficial effects on consumers' health of oat in daily diets, respectively: maintaining blood cholesterol, lowering postprandial glucose, cardiovascular risk reduction, reducing oxidative stress and so on. The increase of oat content in bakery products, such as bread was generally associated with a decrease in volume and a worsening of sensorial characteristics, features that are guiding the consumer's decision to buy a particular product. Researchers have aimed to achieve a bakery product that contains a sufficient amount of whole oat flour, without affecting the quality characteristics of bread (volume, porosity, elasticity). Our results have shown that the ideal proportion between the oat flour and wheat flour was 30:70, in order to obtain a functional product attractive to the consumer. We have also analyzed the main rheological changes (by farinographic and alveographic methods) of dough obtained from wheat-oat composite flours (10, 20, 30, 40, 50% oat flour). Our findings have shown that the addition of oat flour significantly increased the water absorption and decreased water retention capacity under mechanical stress. Generally, the rheological parameters in wheat-oat composite flours were affected by a more than 20% oat flour content.

For simultaneous separation, detection, identification and quantification of fatty acid methyl esters from oils/fats, a GC-MS method was developed and validated. The method is based on fat extraction and transesterification of fatty acids to fatty acid methyl esters. Samples of sunflower oil, refined non-hydrogenated palm oil, fish oil and lard, demonstrated the applicability of the proposed method. Fatty acid methyl esters determination and quantification was realized by using internal standards, and applying relative response factors, and without using internal standards by applying correction factors. Linearity, sensitivity, precision, accuracy, recovery and robustness were determined. The method is sensitive enough to simultaneously quantify 26 compounds, when using internal standard (absolute concentration), and 40 fatty acids without using internal standard (relative concentration). Accuracy was achieved by using a reference material, peanut butter (SRM ® 2387). The results have shown that the proposed method could be considered an effective tool for analyzing the fatty acid profile of food.