Stop eating fried, baked, grilled, or smoked food. Microwave, boil, or steam your food.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued final guidance on how food manufacturers, processors, growers and operators can reduce levels of acrylamide--a chemical that the International Agency for Research on Cancer considers to be a human carcinogen--in food. The U.S. National Toxicology Program also believes acrylamide to be linked to cancer.
Acrylamide is developed when starchy foods like grains and potatoes are cooked to high temperatures, usually via baking, frying or roasting. Most acrylamide research has centered around food products such as french fries and potato chips, but the FDA’s guidance does also acknowledge breakfast cereals, cookies, crackers and toasted bread. Coffee is also a common source of acrylamide.
The FDA urges consumers to enjoy a healthy, balanced diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, poultry, eggs, nuts, beans, and fish. The agency advises against foods that contain fats, trans fats, added sugars, salt and cholesterol.
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain has published its scientific opinion on acrylamide--a chemical that naturally forms in starchy food products during every-day high-temperature cooking--found in food, reconfirming previous evaluations that its presence in food does in fact increase consumer risk of cancer.
The panel’s findings are based on results from animal studies. Tests show that exposure to acrylamide was both genotoxic and carcinogenic, ultimately causing damage to DNA and triggering cancerous cells.
