Acrylamide and food
Updated 31 January 2003
A report of an epidemiological study published in the British Journal of Cancer [January 2003] may help to allay some of the concerns associated with the presence of acrylamide in food. The study has examined retrospectively the level of intake of acrylamide over the last 5 years in a group of cancer patients in Sweden compared with healthy controls. The researchers found “a lack of an excess risk, or any convincing trend, of cancer of the bowel, bladder or kidney in high consumers of fourteen different food items with a high or moderate range of acrylamide content”. While epidemiological studies of this type can never be considered conclusive, the reported results support previous studies which have failed to link acrylamide intake with human cancer.
Several other studies are currently underway around the world that are expected to further clarify the risk to humans from consumption of acrylamide in foods.
Background
In April 2002, the Swedish National Food Administration announced their findings that the chemical, acrylamide, could be found in starch-containing foods cooked at high temperatures, such as fried or roasted potato products and bread. The presence of this chemical in food was not known previously. The Swedish data have been confirmed more recently by studies in the UK.
Acrylamide is more commonly known as an industrial chemical used to prepare the polymeric material known as polyacrylamide, which is used as a flocculant for treating industrial wastewater and, to a lesser extent, drinking water, as well as having other industrial uses. There is a guideline level for acrylamide in Australian drinking water of 0.0002 mg/L. This guideline level is not based on adverse health effects, but rather on the lowest achievable level from its use as a flocculant.
While there is a considerable amount of information available regarding the potential health consequences of exposure to acrylamide at the high levels encountered in an industrial environment, the health consequences of exposure to the low levels found in foods are less clear. There are two areas of concern, namely potential toxicity to the nervous system and potential genetic damage that may lead to cancer.
Acrylamide is known to cause toxicity to the nervous system in animals and humans at very high levels of exposure, but a threshold for this effect can be observed at a level of exposure that is far greater than the expected exposure from food. Consumption of food where acrylamide has been detected should not result in nerve damage.
The other health concern regarding acrylamide is its potential to cause genetic damage that may lead to cancer. On this matter, the available data are less clear and, although there is no evidence from human studies to link acrylamide exposure to increased cancer incidence, there is some evidence from animal studies to suggest such a link. Further information will be required to clarify whether low-level exposure to acrylamide in food can increase the risk of cancer in humans.
In order to address the concerns raised by the Swedish studies, the World Health Organization (WHO) organised an expert consultation in June 2002 to review and evaluate existing research data relevant to establishing the health consequences of the presence of acrylamide in foods. A summary report of the outcome of the consultation can be found on the WHO website ( http://www.who.int/fsf/Acrylamide/SummaryreportFinal.pdf ) as well as the full meeting report ( http://www.who.int/fsf/Documents/Acrylamide/Acrylamide_report.pdf ).
The consultation identified acrylamide in food as a major concern, but also recognised the paucity of data on the safety of acrylamide and the need for more information on the mode of formation and levels of acrylamide in foods. The consultation called for an international effort to share information as part of the ongoing investigations. Members of the consultation also provided advice to minimise whatever risk exists: avoid cooking food excessively, moderate consumption of fried and fatty foods, and eat a balanced and varied diet.
In October 2002, articles in the journal Natureconfirmed earlier observations that acrylamide may be formed in foods during baking and frying, but has not been found in raw food, or food cooked at the lower temperatures reached during boiling.
The authors showed that acrylamide is formed during the Maillard reaction. Products of the Maillard reaction are responsible for much of the flavour and colour associated with fried, roasted and baked foods. This reaction requires sugars, proteins (or free amino acid) and high temperatures to proceed. Model systems used by the authors showed that heating the amino acid asparagine with glucose at 185°C results in most of the asparagine reacting to form acrylamide.
In the light of international concerns, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is continuing to assess the available data on the safety of, and potential exposure to, acrylamide in food in the Australian and New Zealand populations.
FSANZ Acrylamide Task Force
January 2003