Abstract This study evaluates the effect of different processing-dependent factors and the form of the end product on acrylamide levels in various commercially available green, naturally black, and black table olives before and after heat treatment (170 °C) using t -test. The results suggest that the cultivation method, preservatives, herbs, and the form of the olive product in these table olives had no significant impact on acrylamide levels. The presence of organic acids in the samples seemed to lead to significantly lower acrylamide contents, with acetic acid being most effective compared to citric, lactic, or tartaric acid. After heating at 170 °C, it was observed that naturally black and black table olives showed overall higher acrylamide contents (up to 24700 µg kg -1 ) compared to green ones (up to 6300 µg kg -1 ), with the t -test suggesting a significant difference. Heat-treated brine-preserved green and naturally black table olives exhibited a significantly lower median acrylamide level of 325 µg kg -1 compared to oil-preserved ones showing a median of 677 µg kg -1 . Additionally, in the heat-treated table olive samples, the presence of organic acids showed a significant impact on acrylamide content, except for acetic acid. In olive pastes made from green and naturally black table olives, which may involve additional heat treatment during further processing, acrylamide levels ranged from 10.0 to 1310 µg kg -1 (without additional heat treatment) and from 58.6 to 1240 µg kg -1 (with additional heat treatment) in samples heat-treated at 170 °C.
Hölzle et al. (Mon,) studied this question.