Determination of acrylamide using the immuno-enzymatic method in commercial dog and cat foods

Authors: NİMET KILIÇ, BİLAL CEM LİMAN

Abstract: Pet animals raised by humans do not have the chance to choose their own food. Therefore, mistakes made by humans in feeding dogs and cats will adversely affect the health of the animal. There are applications at high temperatures at various stages during the production of dog and cat foods. It is predicted that acrylamide (AA) can be formed as a result of a possible Maillard reaction since the cat and dog foods contain starch in its structure. The aim of this study is to determine the AA residue immuno-enzymatically in dry cat and dog feeds from different companies available on the market. Thus, possible threats to cat and dog health, if any, will be determined, and the applicability of the method will be tested by determining the AA level in foods for the first time with this method. For this purpose, 42 cat and dog foods belonging to various companies in the market were randomly collected from different pet clinics in Aydın and made ready for testing by passing through various stages. AA residues in foods were tested in an immuno-enzymatic way and as a result, AA residue was found in approximately 33% (14 samples) of the analyzed samples in dry cat and dog foods, with an average AA concentration of 87.35 ppb in these samples. The AA concentration in the samples was determined as 45 ppb at the lowest and 155 ppb at the highest. AA could not be detected in 67% of the investigated samples. In conclusion, the Maillard reaction observed during the preparation of food for pets is an important cause of AA formation. Therefore, improvement of formulation and process needs to be regulated carefully. In addition, it is recommended that the immuno-enzymatic method used in the study must be supported by more future studies.

Keywords: Cat, dog, dry feed, acrylamide, immuno-enzymatic method

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