Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and rural development", Vol. 13 ISSUE 1
Written by Radiana Maria TAMBA BEREHOIU, Ciprian Nicolae POPA, Stela POPESCU

This paper aims to assess the current state of knowledge about the use of L - cysteine in food industry, regarding certain cultural, legal, technological, toxicological, and other aspects that influence the attitude of the consumers towards food. Use of L - cysteine and its derivatives in bakery allows the optimizing of the technological characteristics of flours and their higher recovery, by using products with high added value. Use the E 920 additive in human food is subject to the cultural and religious controversy, due to the generalized process of obtaining this additive from animal products (keratin). Our study shows that these controversies will be overcome when industrial fermentative technologies of L - cysteine production will be generalized in the market. There exist no data on the potential toxicity of L - cysteine in the usual doses which are used in the baking industry. The only threat to the status of E 920 as a safe additive is the excitotoxic potential, suggested in several recent studies. Also, there exists a potential for extending the use of L - cysteine in the food industry in order to reduce the contamination degree with certain chemicals having carcinogen potential, such as acrylamide and mycotoxins.

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