Acrylamide advice issued
Thursday 25 April 2002
Consumers do not need to change their diet in the light of new research claiming that some processed starchy foods have toxic levels of a chemical linked to cancer, the FSA has said.
The Agency advice follows a study published on the Swedish National Food Administration website which claimed that acrylamide, a potential carcinogen, may be formed at significant levels in a range of commonly-consumed foods as a result of cooking or processing.
Acrylamide is known to cause cancer in laboratory animals, and so these findings might also be significant for human health.
The Swedish researchers found acrylamide at levels from a few tens of parts per billion to 2300 part per billion in a range of fried, oven-cooked and processed foods such as chips, crisps, biscuits, breakfast cereals and crispbreads.
Acrylamide was not found in any raw or boiled food investigated so far. There have been no previous reports of acrylamide in foods at these levels.
The Swedish National Food Administration has concluded, on the basis of this research, that a significant number of cancer cases may be related to acrylamide in food.
In a statement, the FSA said: 'The Food Standards Agency is aware that this work has been published.
'Acrylamide has never before been found at these levels in foods, but we do take this work seriously and will investigate the issue further. In the meantime, there is no need for people to change their diets.'
It is UK policy that exposure to carcinogens such as acrylamide should be as low as reasonably practicable.