Renata Mikulíková,^a,* Klára Sobotová^b

^a Research Institute of Brewing and Malting PLC, Lípová 15, 120 44 Praha, Czech Republic.
Tel.: +420 545 214110,
Fax: +420 545 321225,
E-mail: mikulikova@brno.beerresearch.cz.
^b Institute of Food Chemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Technology Brno,Purkynova 118, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Paper based on a presentation at the 12^th International Symposium on Separation Sciences, Lipica, Slovenia,
September 27–29, 2006.

Abstract
In food, acrylamide is produced in the course of Maillard reaction and its precursors are reducing saccharides and amino acid asparagine. Acrylamide formation in food depends on food composition and processing conditions. Significant quantities are formed during heat treatment above 120 °C, mostly at 150–180 °C, while at still higher temperatures the extent of formation decreases. Barley is the raw material for malt production. It is a crop with high content of nitrogen compounds and a high content of starch. During malting, enzymatic activity leads to an increase in the content of reducing saccharides in malt, and during kilning, biochemical changes lead to melanoidin production and these conditions are favourable for acrylamide formation. These processes were studied in several malts using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Acrylamide was determined in significant amounts from several µg kg^–1 – mg kg^–1.

Keywords: Acrylamide, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, malt