Variations in acrylamide content of homemade biscuits with the addition of chia (ground seeds and flour).

Homemade food constitutes an important component of people's diets, yet remains understudied for heat-processed contaminants. This study replicated realistic home-baking conditions to evaluate acrylamide variability. Ground chia seeds or defatted chia flour (10 %) were incorporated into biscuits and compared to 100 % wheat-flour controls. Three baking sessions were conducted with nine independent bakers producing 24 batches. Each session involved three to five bakers using the same recipe while varying parameters such as oven mode, ingredient type, and biscuit shape. Acrylamide concentrations ranged from 2.4 to 37 μg kg-1, below the EU benchmark level of 350 μg kg-1. Adding 10 % chia did not impact acrylamide levels. Key influencing parameters included moisture content, pH, and physical parameters (thickness, mass, and shape). Water content in both biscuits and oven atmosphere critically impacted acrylamide formation. This suggests that careful control of baking moisture could be a practical mitigation strategy at household level.