FDA Launches Plan to Reduce Carcinogen Acrylamide present in Fried Foods

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FDA Launches Plan to Reduce Acrylamides in Foods

Mon Sep 30, 5:37 PM ET

By Alicia Ault

 

COLLEGE PARK (Reuters Health) - The US Food and Drug Administration

( news - web sites) (FDA) on Monday set in motion a plan to identify

how the chemical acrylamide is getting into food and what can be

done to reduce or eliminate it, since it can cause cancer,

neurological damage and infertility.

 

 

 

In the first of many meetings, the FDA plans over the next year to

conduct research and form a consensus with international scientists

on how to eliminate acrylamide, said Lester Crawford, deputy FDA

commissioner.

 

" It's alarming--nobody wants it in the food supply, " Crawford said

in an interview with Reuters Health. He added that the FDA aims to

make final recommendations in conjunction with the World Health

Organization ( news - web sites) (WHO) in early 2004.

 

" We're trying to do it in as few months as we possibly can, " said

Crawford.

 

Acrylamide first came to light in April, when the Swedish National

Food Administration and Stockholm University reported they had found

the chemical in fried and oven-baked foods, especially potato chips

and French fries. The Swedes said high-temperature cooking caused

acrylamide formation and suggested that the chemical might cause

several hundred cases of cancer each year in Sweden alone.

 

Many initially doubted the findings, but scientists in Norway, the

United Kingdom and Switzerland have come up with similar results.

 

" The Swedes did not go over the top, " Crawford said.

 

Acrylamide's discovery was new, but the chemical has likely been in

food for thousands of years, said Bernard Schwetz, FDA's senior

science adviser.

 

Scientists agreed at a June WHO meeting to work together to

determine how acrylamide is formed, how to measure it in food, and

whether it stays in the body or is metabolized and excreted. The

scientists also hope to find out if known non-food acrylamide

sources, such as cigarette smoke, are a greater or equal threat

compared to food exposure.

 

Finally, they hope to figure out if any acrylamide consumption is

safe. The FDA will be helping in all of these efforts, especially

focusing on foods that Americans consume most.

 

In international studies, potato chips, French fries, baked goods

like crackers and pastries, breakfast cereals and coffee powder had

the highest acrylamide levels. Lower amounts were found in fried

fish and fried chicken, chocolate powder and instant malt drinks.

 

Preliminary FDA tests of American grocery and restaurant foods also

found the highest levels in French fries and potato chips, but the

range of acrylamides within food categories and among brands was

quite large in some cases, said Dr. Lauren Posnick of the FDA's

Center for Food Safety and Nutrition. That gives hope that there may

be ways to minimize or eliminate acrylamide, Posnick said.

 

There are some clues to why acrylamide forms. Recent studies by FDA

researchers and several papers in this week's issue of Nature show

that when the amino acid asparagine is heated in combination with

glucose, acrylamide is more likely to form. Asparagine is found in

many plant-based foods.

 

Low water content and high-temperature cooking also seem to play a

role.

 

But given foods' chemical complexity, " we'll likely find multiple

mechanisms involved in the formation of acrylamide, " said Schwetz.

 

Until there are more answers, Americans should strive to eat a

balanced diet heavy on fruits and vegetables and limit fried and

fatty foods, Crawford said.

 

The National Food Processors Association said it agreed with FDA

that more needs to be learned about acrylamides and commended the

agency's plan. But the group added, " we do not believe we are faced

with a public health emergency. "