Influence of sodium chloride on colour, residual volatiles and acrylamide formation in model systems and breakfast cereals

Summary To elucidate the salt action in breakfast cereals to decrease its amount without a quality loss, a model system was developed. This model, composed of native maize starch, glucose and a mixture of five amino acids (glucose/amino acids molar ratio = 1/1) generated similar colour and volatiles (m/z = 45, 59, 69, 73, 87 and 103 g mol−1) after heating compared to commercial breakfast cereals. A designed experiment used this model to study the influence of salt concentration (0–5.44%), heating time (0–25 min) and temperature (180–230 °C) on colour, residual volatiles and acrylamide formation. The higher the salt concentration, heating time and temperature, the darker were the products (P < 0.05). The L* values of the model systems containing 5 % salt and heated for 25 min at 230 °C were twelve points lower than the same systems without salt heated in the same conditions. Presence of salt significantly decreased acrylamide formation in the model systems (up to 50 % decrease when 2.5 % salt is added). However, salt did not have a significant impact on volatile levels. These findings were confirmed by observations made on four types of commercial breakfast cereals.