The occurrence and stability of Maillard reaction products in various traditional Chinese sauces

•Dark soy sauce and some vinegar products are high in HMF.•Dark soy sauce is high in MF and MGO, whereas low in GO.•Light soy sauce has more AGEs than the rest three types of sauces.•Z-score analysis is adopted to make a comprehensive evaluation.•Storage stability tests suggest fast use up of vinegar and dark soy sauce. Traditional Chinese sauces, especially soy sauce, vinegar, and oyster sauce, provide foods with special color, flavor, and taste. However, during their manufacturing process, Maillard reaction products (MRPs) might be formed and cause adverse effects on human health. This study detected the levels of some typical MRPs in these sauces. Results showed that dark soy sauce and some vinegar products were high in 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Moreover, dark soy sauce was significantly higher in 5-methylfurfural (MF) and methylglyoxal (MGO) than oyster sauce but lower in glyoxal (GO) than vinegar and oyster sauce, while light soy sauce had significantly higher advanced glycation end products (AGEs) than the rest three types of sauces. Besides, storage stability results indicated that MRPs increased obviously in vinegar and dark soy sauce. Finally, concentration limits/regulations of MRPs in traditional Chinese sauces should be established in the future considering their high frequency of usage and high potential of insalubrity.