Impact of cooking and handling conditions on furanic compounds in breaded fish products.

This study evaluates the influence of cooking and handling conditions on the quantity of furanic compounds (furan, 2-furfural, furfuryl alcohol, 2-pentylfuran, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural) in breaded fish products. Oven-baking and reheating in the microwave lead to low furanic compounds formation in comparison with deep-frying. The use of olive oil for deep-frying promoted higher levels of furanic compounds than sunflower oil. The amounts of these compounds diminished as the temperature and time of deep-frying decreased as well as after a delay after deep-frying. Thus, the generation of furanic compounds can be minimized by adjusting the cooking method and conditions, such as using an electric oven, deep-frying in sunflower oil at 160°C during 4min, or waiting 10min after cooking. However, these conditions that reduce furanic compounds levels also reduce the content of volatile compounds related to the aroma and flavour of fried foods. In this sense, new efforts should be done to reduce the formation of furanic compounds without being detrimental to the volatile profile.

Quantification of furanic compounds in coated deep-fried products simulating normal preparation and consumption: optimisation of HS-SPME analytical conditions by response surface methodology.

The validation of a method for the simultaneous quantification of furanic compounds in coated deep-fried samples processed and handled as usually consumed is presented. The deep-fried food was grinded using a device that simulates the mastication, and immediately analysed by headspace solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Parameters affecting the efficiency of HS-SPME procedure were selected by response surface methodology, using a 2(3) full-factorial central composite design. Optimal conditions were achieved using 2g of sample, 3g of NaCl and 40min of absorption time at 37°C. Consistency between predicted and experimented values was observed and quality parameters of the method were established. As a result, furan, 2-furfural, furfuryl alcohol and 2-pentylfuran were, for the first time, simultaneously detected and quantified (5.59, 0.27, 10.48 and 1.77µgg(-1) sample, respectively) in coated deep-fried fish, contributing to a better understanding of the amounts of these compounds in food.

Effect of solvent to sample ratio on total lipid extracted and fatty acid composition in meat products within different fat content.

The effect of solvent to sample ratio on total extracted lipids and fatty acid (FA) composition in meat products with different fat contents was evaluated. Total lipids were extracted according to the Folch et al. (1957) method, using a 20:1 ratio of chloroform:methanol (2:1, v/v) to sample (A), and also testing the solvent:sample ratio of 10:1 (B). Higher amounts of total lipids and total FA from neutral lipids were obtained using the A ratio, which could be due to an insufficient chloroform:dry-weight sample proportion which could be insufficient for solubilizing the total amount of lipids. In the polar lipid fraction, the total amount of FA was higher using the B rather than the A ratio, which may be caused by the higher volume of added water when using A than B. When studying the FA composition of different lipid fractions, the volume of both the solvent and the water for total lipid extraction should be considered.