The contribution of azodicarbonamide to ethyl carbamate formation in bread and beer

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Abstract
Data on ethyl carbamate concentrations in beers purchased and analysed between 1988 and 1990 are presented. The concentrations in draught beers were uniformly below the detection limit of 1 μg/l. Canned beers contained rather more ethyl carbamate (up to 2.5 μg/l) which is considered to be due to their longer shelf‐life and higher alcohol content (in some cases). Bottled beers contained even higher amounts of ethyl carbamate (up to 14.7 μg/l) and this was considered to be due to the use of azodicarbonamide as a blowing agent in the beer bottle cap liners. It is understood that modifications to the liner have led to reduced concentrations in bottled beers produced more recently. A survey of bread samples and related cereal products such as rusks, French toasts and pitta bread indicated typical ethyl carbamate concentrations between <0.4 and 4.5 μg/kg. Toasting bread led to increases of between three‐ and eight‐fold in ethyl carbamate concentrations ranging from 3.5 to 33.8 μg/kg on a wet weight basis. Analysis of the data indicated that commercial bread samples which indicated the use of azodicarbonamide as a flour improver showed statistically significant increases in ethyl carbamate concentrations. The mean increase for treated bread over untreated bread was 66%. When these breads were toasted, the mean increase for treated toast over untreated toast was 56%.