Furosine as marker of quality in dried durum wheat pasta: Impact of heat treatment on food quality and security – A review

Drying is a widely used technique in food manufacturing to preserve food stability by minimizing physical and chemical changes during storage. In dried pasta production, drying is a crucial operation for the quality of the end-product. The traditional drying methods use low temperature (less than 60 °C) and long treatment times (for up to 60 h depending on the pasta shape); but on large-scale retail trade production, the high/very high temperature (75–100 °C or ≥ 100 °C) and short-time (for 10 to 3 h) drying processes are widely employed. A lot of studies prove that drastic heat treatment promotes the Maillard reaction causing changes in the final nutritional and organoleptic properties of pasta. Furosine, an amino acid derived from the acid hydrolysis of Amadori compounds formed during the early stage of the Maillard reaction, has been extensively used as a marker of the heat damage. This review aims to carry out an in-depth investigation of the scientific literature about the role of furosine as a marker of quality. Particularly, to valorise on the market durum wheat dried pasta that has not undergone to thermal stress and also to identify potential commercial fraud. Additionally, volatile compounds, formed during the advanced and final stage of Maillard reaction and responsible for several food properties, were considered due to the possibility to use them in combination with furosine for food security and food quality purposes.