The Latest on Acrylamide

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Marion Nestle

Sunday, February 07, 2010

The fuss about acrylamide continues. This, you may recall is a carcinogen formed when foods containing sugars and the amino acid asparagine are cooked at high temperatures. Acrylamide is formed during the Maillard reaction, which causes baked, fried, and toasted foods to turn attractively brown and taste yummy.

Obviously, acrylamide has been around in foods for a long time. But now that everyone knows how bad it is, what should be done about it?

A new toxicology study provides estimates for an upper level of intake that can be considered safe: 2.6 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. This would be equivalent to 182 micrograms for a 70 kg human to prevent cancer. Much higher levels are required to cause neurological problems: 40 micrograms per kg per day, or 2,800 micrograms per day for a 70 kg human. But since you have no idea how much is in the foods you are eating, these figures don’t help much.

But maybe you don’t need to worry? Even the lower of the toxic levels is much higher than intake levels estimated by health agencies. The average exposure of adults to acrylamide in food has been estimated to be below 0.5 micrograms per kilogram of bodyweight, which is five times lower than the upper limit considered safe.

That is somewhat reassuring but how come a European Expert Panel has unanimously decided to put acrylamide on the list of “substances of very high concern?” This makes it sound as if acrylamide is well worth avoiding at any level of intake.

How to avoid? A recent study points out that foods low in sugars and high in antioxidants have lower levels of acrylamide. This translates into standard dietary advice. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and don’t eat too much junk food, and you can cross acrylamide off the list of food issues you need to spend much time worrying about.