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Title: A national effort to identify fry processing clones with low acrylamide-forming potential

Author
item Bethke, Paul
item WANG, YI - University Of Idaho
item ENDELMAN, JEFFERY - University Of Wisconsin

Submitted to: American Journal of Potato Research
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/10/2015
Publication Date: 7/19/2015
Citation: Wang, Y., Endelman, J.B., Bethke, P.C. 2015. A national effort to identify fry processing clones with low acrylamide-forming potential. American Journal of Potato Research. Paper No. G61.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Acrylamide is a suspected human carcinogen. Processed potato products, such as chips and fries, contribute to dietary intake of acrylamide. One of the most promising approaches to reducing acrylamide consumption is to develop and commercialize new potato varieties with low acrylamide-forming potential. To facilitate this effort, a National Fry Processing Trial (NFPT) was conducted from 2011-2013 in five states (ID, ME, ND, WA, WI). More than 140 advanced breeding lines were evaluated for tuber agronomic traits and biochemical properties from harvest through eight months of storage. Several dozen entries had significantly less acrylamide than the standard varieties Russet Burbank and Ranger Russet, with reductions in excess of 50%. As in previous studies, the glucose content of raw tubers was highly predictive of acrylamide in finished fries (R2 = 0.64 – 0.77). Despite its role in acrylamide formation, free asparagine was not a significant predictor of acrylamide, potentially because it showed relatively little variation in the NFPT population. Analysis of covariance revealed that, in addition to tuber glucose, genotype was highly significant (p = 0.001) for predicting acrylamide in the finished fries, indicating there are as yet unidentified genetic loci to target in breeding. The NFPT has demonstrated that acrylamide reduction is not a difficult breeding objective; the real challenge is finding a low-acrylamide-forming variety that also meets the complex quality criteria required by the processing industry.