May 20/Journal of Technology & Science -- "The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the olive oil phenolic compounds as well as of thermoxidized oil on the formation of acrylamide in a cookie system. Three virgin olive oils having different phenolic profile and a thermoxidized sunflower oil were selected," scientists in Madrid, Spain, report.

"Cookies were baked at 190 A degrees C for different times (8-16 minutes) following a basic recipe where type of oil was the variable. In addition to acrylamide (AA), other parameters -- such as color, moisture, antioxidant activity (AOA) and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) -- were measured. Results showed that concentration and composition of phenolic moiety of virgin olive oil significantly affect the acrylamide formation, particularly at prolonged baking time. Virgin olive oil with a higher dihydroxy/monohydroxy ratio was more efficient in the AA mitigation, and AA was reduced up to 20%. Color and AOA were not significantly different among the three types of oils. However, AA is dramatically increased when thermoxidized oil is used with a parallel increase of browning and HMF," wrote G. Arribaslorenzo and colleagues.