Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 of 20 November 2017 establishing mitigation measures and benchmark levels for the reduction of the presence of acrylamide in food (Text with EEA relevance) (c. 2158)

ANNEX I U.K. MITIGATION MEASURES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 2(1)

IV. BREAKFAST CEREALS U.K.

Agronomy U.K.

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.

Recipe U.K.

1. Given that products based on maize and rice tend to have less acrylamide than those made with wheat, rye, oats and barley, FBOs shall consider using maize and rice in new product development where applicable and taking into consideration that any change will have an impact on the manufacturing process and organoleptic properties of the products. U.K.

2. 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 their impact on organoleptic properties and process functionalities (binding clusters for cluster formation) and which can act as precursors to acrylamide formation when added prior to heat-treatment stages. U.K.

3. FBOs shall take into account in the risk assessment the acrylamide contribution from heat-treated, dry ingredients, such as roasted and toasted nuts and oven dried fruits, and use alternative ingredients if the contribution is likely to bring the finished product above the benchmark level specified in Annex IV. U.K.

4. For heat-treated ingredients which contain 150 micrograms of acrylamide per kilogram (μg/kg) or more, FBOs shall take the following actions: U.K.

• to establish a register of such ingredients;

• to carry out audits of suppliers and/or analyses;

• to ensure that no changes are made by the supplier of such ingredients that increase acrylamide levels.

5. When the cereal is in a flour dough format and the manufacturing process allows a sufficient time, temperature and moisture content for asparaginase to reduce asparagine levels, FBOs shall use asparaginase where required provided there is no adverse effect on flavour or risk of residual enzyme activity. U.K.

Processing U.K.

In the manufacture of breakfast cereals FBOs shall apply the following mitigation measures and shall ensure that the measures taken are compatible with the product characteristics and food safety requirements:

1.

FBOs shall identify, by means of risk assessment, the critical heat-treatment step(s) in the manufacturing process that generate(s) acrylamide.

2.

As higher heating temperatures and longer heating times generate higher acrylamide levels, FBOs shall identify an effective combination of temperature and heating times to minimise acrylamide formation without compromising the taste, texture, colour, safety and shelf-life of the product.

3.

To avoid the generation of acrylamide spikes, FBOs shall control heating temperatures, times and feed-rates in order to achieve the following minimum moisture content in the final product after the final heat treatment in consideration of achieving the targeted product quality, the required shelf life and food safety standards:

• toasted products: 1 g/100 g for extruded products, 1 g/100 g for batch cooked products, 2 g/100 g for steam rolled products;

• direct expanded products: 0,8 g/100 g for extruded products;

• baked products: 2 g/100 g for continuously cooked products;

• filled products: 2 g/100 g for extruded products;

• other drying: 1 g/100 g for batch cooked products, 0,8 g/100 g for gun puffed products.

FBOs shall measure the moisture content and express acrylamide concentration in a dry mass to eliminate the confounding effect of moisture changes.

4.

Reworking product back through the process has the potential to generate higher acrylamide levels through repeated exposure to the heat-treatments steps. FBOs therefore shall assess the impact of rework on acrylamide levels and reduce or eliminate rework.

5.

FBOs shall have procedures in place, such as temperature controls and monitoring, to prevent the incidence of burnt products.