Employees of the University of Michigan in the USA have found a way to reduce the level of carcinogen released during frying potatoes.
During storage at low temperatures, a process is started inside the tubers that contributes to an increase in the percentage of starch (CIS). And as a result of their heat treatment, acrylamide is formed – a carcinogenic substance that is dangerous to human health.
The Americans managed to identify the gene responsible for the production of starch during long-term storage of potatoes. The authors of the study proposed a mechanism to prevent the darkening of tubers in the refrigerator and the subsequent production of potentially harmful substances.
During the experiments, scientists used gene editing to select CIS-resistant potatoes in greenhouses. The results of their work open up prospects for the development of new crop varieties that can be kept for a long time with the required microclimate parameters in the storage. At the same time, the possibility of the formation of acrylamide is excluded.
