Food Chemistry: X, vol.34, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
This study aimed to investigate the effect of various sweeteners on the development of Maillard reaction products in wheat cookies. Cookies prepared using pure sugars (fructose, glucose, dextrose, sucrose), maltex, brown cane sugar, coconut sugar, xylitol, erythritol, maple syrup and agave syrup, acacia honey and meadow honey, apricot jam and pumpkin jam and stevia extract were baked at 180 °C for 7, 10 and 13 min. The levels of acrylamide and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), as well as color were monitored in these cookies. At 180 °C, acrylamide was detected at all baking times, reaching a final concentration of 592.1 μg/kg up to 2000.3 and 2063.7 μg/kg after 13 min of baking in cookies containing brown cane sugar, which comprises 99.19% sucrose, and coconut sugar i.e. pumpkin jam, respectively. The highest HMF accumulation was a consequence of sucrose replacement with acacia honey and meadow honey. In cookies with sugar alcohols and stevia, HMF was not detected.