2012 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416): 1. Rapid development and introduction of new potato varieties that have exceptional agronomic, processing and consumer acceptance traits. 2. Explore new methods for rapid and simultaneous measurement of acrylamide content in chips and French fries to meet the high throughput needs of breeding programs and processing industry. 1b.Approach (from AD-416): Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy will be used to develop a more efficient and cost effective method for rapidly analyzing acrylamide in chips and French fries from potatoes as well as sweetpotatoes. Samples of various potato and sweetpotato genotypes containing a wide range of reducing sugar and asparagine contents will be analyzed using chromatographic methods and near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. The samples will be processed into fried chips and French fries for acrylamide analysis using GC-MS, LC-MS/MS and NIR techniques. Samples will be scanned in the diffuse reflectance mode (400-2500 nm) of NIR spectrometer. The mean NIR spectra of the analyzed samples will be modeled against the data generated by chromatographic methods using partial least square regression (PLSR), and the regression models will be validated by full cross-validation. The NIR methods will be optimized for processed products with the goal of achieving an accuracy of +/-20% in the range of 0-500 ppm acrylamide. Acrylamide is formed primarily from reducing sugars and amino acids especially asparagine. The LC-MS and GC-MS methods currently used to analyze acrylamide is time consuming and expensive. 3.Progress Report: This project is related to in-house objective number 5: Evaluate advanced sweetpotato genotypes intended for processing applications, postharvest handling systems, and processing technologies for their potential to increase levels of beneficial phytochemicals in concert with production of high quality food products. The project was not implemented due to a delay in hiring personnel to handle the collaborative work at the North Carolina State University site. A tentative date of November 01, 2012 has been suggested for starting the project.