Heat-induced contaminants in foodstuffs: Acrylamide, furan, and fatty acid esters of monochloropropanediols and glycidol

The production and preparation of foodstuffs may entail at high temperatures the generation of undesirable, potentially harmful compounds. Among the best investigated heat-induced contaminants are acrylamide, furan, and the fatty acid esters of glycidol and the monochloropropanediols. This article presents the main insights into the formation, toxicology, and exposure of these compounds. Acrylamide and glycidol were characterized as carcinogens with a genotoxic mechanism in animal experiments. Their content in foods should be minimized. For 3‑monochloropropanediol (3-MCPD), a tolerable daily intake can be derived. In contrast, a complete risk assessment is currently not possible for furan and 2‑MCPD owing to insufficient data. Many other heat-induced substances in foodstuffs were identified in addition to the compounds mentioned above, but for most no data on their toxicological properties and human exposure is available. Therefore, no risk assessment can currently be undertaken for these compounds. To prioritize this large number of compounds according to their possible hazard potential, it is reasonable to utilize computer modeling programs for the prediction of defined toxicological endpoints based on the molecular chemical structures. However, substances classed as a priority must be further investigated with regard to the toxicology and quantification of the food content of these compounds to allow a meaningful risk assessment.