Federician study investigates vegetable snacks and chips

A study conducted by Professor Alberto Ritieni's group, the FoodLab of the Department of Pharmacy at the Federico II University, in collaboration with the RiskTox group, formed by Dr. Abel Navarré and Professor Yelko Rodríguez-Carrasco, of the University of Valencia, evaluated the acrylamide content in ready-to-eat vegetable snacks and chips available on the Italian market using advanced liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques. Acrylamide (AA) is a compound classified as probably carcinogenic to humans by IARC (Group 2A), which is formed during the Maillard reaction, a series of complex chemical reactions that take place during the cooking of foods and is responsible for the formation of flavors and aromas, but also toxic substances such as AA. Importantly, none of the 36 samples analyzed exceeded the reference values; acrylamide levels ranged from unquantifiable (<LOQ) up to 730 μg/kg, but some were very close to the 750 μg/kg threshold set for potato chips by Regulation 2017/2158.

With the latest published data on food consumption and anthropometric measurements of the Italian population (INRAN SCAI IV study, 2025), the next research step was to assess the risk for the exposed Italian population. The EFSA Scientific Committee states that for genotoxic and carcinogenic substances a Margin of Exposure of 10,000 or more is of mild public health concern.

The study found a potential concern for children aged 3 to 9 years, finding MoE values below 10,000 in relation to the average acrylamide levels found in the samples analyzed. In this age group, Italian children are particularly vulnerable, as they consume a higher amount of snacks in relation to body weight and have a less efficient metabolism in eliminating acrylamide. In adults, on the other hand, the situation appears less worrisome due to lower average consumption relative to body weight.

This study underscores the importance of continuous monitoring of contaminants in food, as well as updating legislation to safeguard food safety.

The FoodLab, founded by Alberto Ritieni, who passed away in 2023, and now led by Dr. Luana Izzo, continues its scientific legacy with an ongoing commitment to developing innovative and sustainable food safety strategies.

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