Purpose: The perceived vs. actual maturity, sourcing and handling of ackees are possible causes of higher than expected levels of toxin in the fruit. Studies were undertaken to evaluate the impact of these variables on the HGA content of commercially canned Jamaican ackees.
Methods: Unprocessed and canned ackees were selected from three processing plants across the country and assessed to determine their HGA content using reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Samples represented different reaping and selection practices and different stages of actual vs. perceived maturity. The appearance of the fruit was recorded photographically, the study repeated three times and both uncooked and thermally processed (cooked) canned fruit were assessed.
Results: Hypoglycin A decreased as the maturity increased from a mean of 2,412 ppm for Stage 4 (immature) ackees to 162 ppm for Stage 7 (mature) uncooked ackees. Hypoglycin A levels were lower (P < 0.05) in cooked ackees than in uncooked ackees, but were found to be higher for mature (Stage 6 and 7) cooked ackees at 117 ppm and 111 ppm, respectively, than had been previously reported.
Significance: The finding of consistently higher toxin levels in the fruit across the island showed a systemic increase in HGA in Jamaican canned ackees over typically levels at the same stage of maturity, indicating the need to differentiate perceived and actual maturity levels. The findings also confirmed that cooking reduces the HGA content of the fruit.