Acrylamide: why the EU could restrict it
French fries, hamburger bread , but also breakfast cereals and coffee, contain acrylamide, a chemical substance that is produced by cooking at high temperatures in starchy foods cooked by methods such as frying, baking, grilling , industrial cooking above 120 °C.
This substance, according to some studies conducted starting in the early 2000s, is harmful to human health. It would in fact be genotoxic (i.e. capable of damaging DNA ) and carcinogenic. Acrylamide is found in sandwiches , biscuits, toast , cereal snacks , and other products including coffee and roasted nuts . The European Commission is committed to reviewing the 2017 Regulation regarding the limits and values of acrylamide in commercially available food products .
Acrylamide: Synthesis
- Acrylamide is a substance used in various industrial processeswhich forms in foods, but also in tobacco subjected to high temperatures above 120 degrees.
- It can form in foods that contain starch( potatoes , biscuits, bread ) and in the toasting of cereals, dried fruit and coffee
- Laboratory studies have demonstrated the correlation between the risk of developing tumors and exposure to acrylamide
- The International Agency for Research on Cancer(IARC) has classified acrylamide as a “probable human carcinogen”,
What it is and how it is formed
Acrylamide is a potentially very toxic substance that is formed from the reaction between some sugars and the amino acid asparagine, contained in foods, during cooking such as frying, grilling, baking, roasting at very high temperatures for prolonged periods. The chemical process it causes, as highlighted by the Ministry of Health, is known as the “Maillard reaction” and gives food that typical
“toasted” appearance which makes it tastier . The foods under scrutiny for this potentially harmful reaction to human health are cereals, potatoes or coffee.
Foods that contain Acrylamide
- French fries
- Crackersand rusks, croutons
- Sliced bread and hamburger bread
- Cocoapowder
- Coffee
- Potato-based dishes such as rösti and croquettes, vegetable chips
- Tortilla
- Pancake
- Breakfast cereals
- Croissant
- Dried fruit
- Cigarettetobacco
What the EU says
The European Commission will change the provisions relating to the presence of acrylamide in foods. The new rules that set limits and variables are expected by 2023. In fact, there are many foods cooked at high temperatures that make up people’s diet on a daily basis: biscuits, snacks and bread, chips and coffee. If the temperature exceeds 120°C, sugars and amino acids give rise to this substance, accused of being potentially carcinogenic and harmful to DNA. Limits and variables will be imposed on the producers of these industrial foods who will have to adapt, under penalty of sanctions and complaints.
Until now there has been a timid warning from the institutions with a request to producers to pay attention and lower the thresholds and temperatures. Suffice it to say that from monitoring carried out in recent years, from 2018 onwards, acrylamide concentrations ranged from 50 to 7 thousand ppb, depending on the recipes, the cooking method and the type of flour used. The relationships between sugars and amino acids also produced interesting results. It has been seen, for example, that the quantity of acrylamide produced is higher in the presence of fructose , compared to other sugars such as glucose . Furthermore, in the presence of more water and therefore humidity, acrylamide levels are lower.
Acrylamide and Cancer: what is the correlation?
Acrylamide was defined by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the WHO as a probable carcinogen already in 1994 (class 2A). According to some more recent studies, there is a harmful correlation between acrylamide and neurodegenerative damage with the risk of developing diseases such as Alzheimer ‘s .
However, numerous studies conducted in recent years and involving a sample of over one million people have not ascertained with absolute certainty whether taking an average of 23 micrograms of acrylamide per day for approximately 15 years would result in the appearance of different types of cancer such as oral cavity, stomach , esophagus , colorectal , prostate , pancreas , thyroid , etc.
The results of studies carried out on humans, in fact, provide limited and conflicting evidence of a greater risk of developing cancer ( kidney , endometrial and ovarian ) in association with dietary exposure to acrylamide. An inverse relationship between acrylamide exposure and birth weight and other markers of fetal growth is reported in two studies . As reported on the Ministry of Health website, EFSA experts concluded that further research needs to be carried out to confirm the validity of these results taken from human studies. Studies on workers exposed to acrylamide for professional reasons highlight an increased risk of nervous system disorders .
While on the one hand, at an industrial level, the producers of bagged chips, crackers, savory snacks, toasted cereals, etc. have reduced the preparation temperature, as per the invitation from Europe, at a home level it is not always possible to keep them under control the temperature limits (possible, in the case of fried foods, only with a temperature-controlled fryer.
However, the consumption of fried or industrial foods should be limited or avoided due to proven harmful consequences for the body.
