Proficiency test on determination of acrylamide in potato crisps completed

IRMM has published a report on the proficiency test on the determination of acrylamide in potato crisps.

In 2007 IRMM was requested by the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection to organise a proficiency test on determination of acrylamide in potato products. The aim of this test was to support the implementation of Commission Recommendation 2007/331/EC on the monitoring of acrylamide levels in food.

The study was organised and the evaluation of the results was carried out in accordance with the international harmonised protocol for the proficiency testing of analytical chemistry laboratories, presented by Thompson, Ellison and Wood and published by the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in 2006. The participants were asked to determine the acrylamide content in the test sample using their method of choice. In total, 36 data sets were sent to the organiser for evaluation.

An assigned value for the acrylamide content of the test material was established by an isotope dilution method in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The target standard deviation was calculated according to a proposal of Thompson, which applies a concentration dependent modification of the Horwitz equation.The performance of laboratories was expressed by the z-score. They are considered satisfactory if the values of |z| ≤ 2. Twelve laboratories of 36 (33.3%) reported results |z| >2.

Source: Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM)