Production of contaminants during thermal processing in both industrial and home preparation of foods

The problem of processing contaminants is now one of the most challenging issues the food industry needs to address. Heat processing contaminants may be defined as substances that are produced in a food when it is cooked or processed, and they are not present or present at much lower concentrations in the raw, unprocessed food. These heat toxic compounds and undesirable either because they have an adverse effect on product quality or because they are potentially harmful. It is important to highlight that Maillard Reaction (Mr) is the most important chemical reaction occurring during food processing at high temperature unit operations since it is crucial for the development of attractive sensory food attributes of the final products, improving their digestibility, ensuring microbial safety, and developing flavor and taste to name just three. On the other hand, Mr has shown that heating of starchy and protein food matrixes can generate various kinds of potentially toxic compounds (PTCs). Consequently, PTCs could be mitigated by favoring the processing conditions under which Mr is inhibited and/or reducing the PTC crucial precursors in raw food materials before being heated at high temperature unit operations such as frying, extrusion, roasting, grilling, baking, and among others. Mr also plays a crucial role in the heat formation of some PCTs such as acrylamide (AA), furan, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), and heterocyclic amines (HAs) either in starchy and/or protein food matrixes processed by excessive heating. In this chapter, we will present some of the most important PTCs in foods such as AA, furan, HMF, and HAs. We will show you some mitigation strategies for PTCs considering the following issues: (1) raw materials and precursor contents specific for the formation of one or more PCTs, (2) heating processing conditions, and (3) mecanism(s) of PTC formation under specific conditions. This information will help you to generate foods heated at high processing temperatures while minimizing PCT formation and preserving the quality attributes of the desired food product. In this way, we will contribute in reducing the exposure of consumers to dietary PCTs.