Cafe espresso

Food Chemistry 119 (2010) 929–934

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Food Chemistry
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem

Acrylamide in espresso coffee: Influence of species, roast degree and brew length
Rita C. Alves *,1, C. Soares 1, Susana Casal, J.O. Fernandes, M. Beatriz P.P. Oliveira
REQUIMTE/Serviço de Bromatologia, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade doPorto, Rua Aníbal Cunha 164, 4099-030 Porto, Portugal

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Espresso coffees were analysed for acrylamide contents by matrix solid-phase dispersion and GC–MS. The influence of coffee species, roast degree, and brew length were ascertained. Mean acrylamide contents of medium roasted espressos (30 mL) were 1.16 ± 0.25 and 2.31 ± 0.43 lg for pure arabica androbusta samples, respectively. Espressos prepared from commercial blends contained an average acrylamide level of 1.26 ± 0.28 lg. A 25% decrease was observed when comparing espressos prepared with medium and dark roasted coffee. The extraction efficacy of acrylamide for standard espressos of 30 mL was near 80%, being only affected by brew volume, with long espressos (70 mL) containing practically allacrylamide of the coffee cake (99%), almost double that of short ones (20 mL). When compared with other common coffee beverages, espresso acrylamide concentration (lg/L) was higher. However, due to the small volume per cup, it may contribute less to acrylamide ingestion. Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 12 May 2009 Received in revised form 27 July 2009 Accepted29 July 2009

Keywords: Acrylamide Espresso coffee Coffee brews Coffee species Roast Brew length

1. Introduction Acrylamide (2-propenamide), labelled by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, 1994) as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A), is presently a focus of worldwide concern, especially since the announcement, in 2002, of its widespread occurrence incarbohydrate-rich cooked foods by the Swedish National Food Administration (SNFA, 2002). Several scientific initiatives have been launched in order to fully understand its chemistry and toxicology, focusing chiefly on its formation mechanism and possible human consequences. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA, 2005) highlighted the importance of acrylamide occurrence data in foods consumedin developing countries, as a valuable tool in conducting intake assessments and mitigation approaches to reduce human exposure (a high priority for governments and industries) (Arisseto & Toledo, 2006). A high relevance is being given to coffee, as an important dietary source of acrylamide, mainly in the Nordic European countries where it may contribute up to one third of total dietary intake(Dybing & Sanner, 2003; Guenther, Anklam, Wenzl, & Stadler, 2007; Svensson et al., 2003). Among other possible reaction pathways, the Maillard reaction represents the main route for acrylamide formation in coffee, being initiated by the condensation of asparagine and reducing carbohydrates or reactive carbonyls, when the beans are subjected to the high roasting temperature
* Corresponding author.Fax: +351 222 003 977. E-mail address: rita.c.alves@gmail.com (R.C. Alves). 1 Both authors contributed equally to this project. 0308-8146/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.07.051

(Guenther et al., 2007). Acrylamide formation starts rapidly at the beginning of the roasting process and it decreases shortly after reaching a maximum level,probably due to physical and chemical losses (Bagdonaite, Derler, & Murkovic, 2008; Guenther et al., 2007; Lantz et al., 2006; Senyuva & Gökmen, 2005; Taeymans et al., 2004). Therefore, the degree of roasting will be a key factor in acrylamide content, with light roasted coffee attaining significantly higher amounts when compared with dark roasted counterparts (Bagdonaite et al., 2008; Guenther et...