Maillard Browning: Pros and Cons in Dairy and Food Industries

The Maillard reaction, also known as non-enzymatic browning reaction between reducing sugars and amino groups. This reaction is responsible for the formation of several compounds, called MRP (Maillard Reaction Products) for food products. The Maillard reaction produces undesirable effects during the processing and storage of different liquid foods such as milk or fruit juices whereas for other solid foods the changes are favorable (in the case of bread, breakfast cereals, candies, coffee, chocolate, etc.). The Maillard reaction is a complex reaction, since it is influenced by many factors such as temperature, pH, time, water activity, type and concentration of reactant source and sugar involved. In heated food products, two carcinogenic compounds are produced during maillard reactions, acrylamide and imidazoquinoline. Furosine and HMF are two compounds that indicate the extent of the maillard reaction related to the type and intensity of the food processing conditions. Keywords: Maillard reaction, melanoidin, furfural, amadori rearrangement