FBOs shall control the addition rates at the point of addition of reducing sugars (e.g. fructose and glucose) and ingredients containing reducing sugars (e.g. honey) taking into consideration the impact on organoleptic properties and process functionalities (binding clusters) and which can act as precursors to acrylamide formation when added prior to heat-treatment stages.
3.
If coffee substitutes are not made exclusively from cereals, FBOs shall use of other ingredients which result in lower levels of acrylamide after high temperature processing where applicable.
Processing
1.
FBOs shall identify the critical roast conditions to ensure minimal acrylamide formation within the target flavour profile.
2.
Control of roast conditions shall be incorporated into a Pre-requisite Program (PRP) as part of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
VII. COFFEE SUBSTITUTES CONTAINING MORE THAN 50 % CHICORY
FBOs shall purchase only cultivars low in asparagine and FBOs shall ensure that no late and excessive nitrogen application has taken place during the growth of chicory.
Recipe
If coffee substitutes are not made exclusively from chicory namely, chicory content is less than 100 % and more than 50 %, FBOs shall add other ingredients, such as chicory fibres, roasted cereals, as these have been shown to be effective to reduce the acrylamide content in the final product.
Processing
1.
FBOs shall identify the critical roast conditions to ensure minimal acrylamide formation within the target flavour profile. Conclusions shall be documented.
2.
Control of roast conditions shall be incorporated into the manufacturer's food safety management system.
VIII. BABY BISCUITS AND INFANT CEREALS(5)
In case of contract farming, where agricultural products are supplied to FBOs directly by their producers, FBOs shall ensure that the following requirements to prevent elevated asparagine levels in cereals are applied:
— to follow Good Agricultural Practices on fertilisation, in particular with regard to maintaining balanced sulphur levels in the soil and to ensure a correct nitrogen application;
— to follow Good Phytosanitary Practices in order to ensure the application of good practices on crop protection measures to prevent fungal infection.
FBOs shall carry out controls to verify the effective application of the aforesaid requirements.
Product Design, Processing and Heating
1.
FBOs shall use asparaginase to reduce the levels of asparagine in the flour raw material insofar possible. FBOs that cannot use asparaginase due to, for example the processing requirements or product design, shall use flour raw material low in acrylamide precursors, such as fructose and glucose and asparagine.
2.
FBOs shall make an assessment during recipe development that provides information on reducing sugars and asparagine, and includes options on achieving low reducing sugars in the final recipe. This need for this assessment will be dependent on use of asparaginase in the recipe.
3.
FBOs shall ensure that heat treated ingredients which are susceptible to acrylamide formation are obtained from suppliers that are able to demonstrate that they have taken the appropriate mitigation measures to reduce the presence of acrylamide in those ingredients.
4.
FBOs shall have a change control procedure in place to ensure that they do not make any supplier changes that increase acrylamide.
5.
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