Determination of the acrylamide content in potato chips : Report on proficiency test organised by the EURL-PAH

This report presents the results of a proficiency test (PT) organised by the European Union Reference Laboratory for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (EURL-PAHs) in 2017 under its extended scope including process contaminants. The aim of this PT is to evaluate the ability of the European official control laboratories to reliably analyse acrylamide in potato chips. On request by DG SANTE and in agreement with National Reference Laboratories the test material used in this exercise was a commercial potato chip acquired from a local supermarket, cryogenically ground and homogenised at the EURL-PAH premises. In addition participants received a solution of acrylamide with known content for the verification of their instrument calibration. Forty officially nominated National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) and Official food Control Laboratories (OCLs) of the EU Member States, Norway and Iceland participated to the study. The test material was characterised by the EURL-PAH. The assigned value and the corresponding measurement uncertainty were determined from independent replicate measurements on two different days by isotope dilution mass spectrometry. Participants were free to choose their method of analysis. The performance of the participating laboratories in determining acrylamide in the test material was expressed as z- and zetascores. This PT demonstrated the high competence of the participating laboratories in the analysis of acrylamide. About 90% of the reported test results were assessed as satisfactory based on the z-scores.