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Fact Sheets 2008

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Acrylamide in food

In April 2002, the Swedish National Food Administration reported traces of the chemical, acrylamide, in starch-containing foods cooked at high temperatures, such a s fried or roasted potato products and bread. The presence of this chemical in food was not known previously.

What is acrylamide?

Acrylamide is more commonly known as an industrial chemical used to prepare the polymeric material known as polyacrylamide, which is used as a flocculent for treating industrial wastewater and, to a lesser extent, drinking water, and other industrial uses. Acrylamide is also found in tobacco smoke.

What is the link with food?

As shown by the Swedish research, acrylamide can form in certain foods during cooking when sugars are heated with amino acids –specifically asparagine – in what is called a Maillard reaction. Maillard reaction products occur in cooking to produce the common cooking odours, flavours and texture of cooked food. The major foods in which acrylamide has been detected are fried or roasted potato products, coffee and cereal-based products (sweet biscuits, bread, rolls and toast) .

Does acrylamide in food present a health problem?

There are two areas of concern, namely potential toxicity to the nervous system and potential genetic damage that may lead to cancer.

We know from studies with animals that acrylamide can cause cancer in those animals. Other studies are underway to better understand the significance of these results in relation to human health. While there is a considerable amount of information available on 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. At present, there is no direct evidence that acrylamide causes cancer in humans.

Acrylamide can cause toxicity to the nervous system in animals and humans at very high levels of exposure, but the threshold for this effect is 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.

What is the exposure of Australian and New Zealand consumers to acrylamide?

To date, there have been two assessments of the dietary exposure of Australians to acrylamide. Both these assessments used consumption information from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey for carbohydrate-based foods. The first combined the consumption information with international data on the concentration of acrylamide in a range of foods, while the second used concentrations obtained for Australian foods by the Australian Government Analytical Laboratories.

Both assessments showed estimated daily exposures to acrylamide of 0.5 micrograms per kilogram of bodyweight for average consumers of the carbohydrate foods in question, and 1.5 micrograms per kilogram of bodyweight for high consumers. These findings are the same order of magnitude as estimated dietary exposures reported by the Food Agricultural Organisation and the World Health Organisation (FAO/WHO) studies. It appears that dietary exposure of Australians to acrylamide is similar to that estimated for other countries.

The New Zealand Food Safety Agency reported dietary exposure estimates of between 0.9 to 2.4 micrograms per kilogram of bodyweight and similar to other international estimates. Potato crisps and chips contributed 40% of the dietary intake of acrylamide.

Is there an international approach to acrylamide in food?

The World Health Organization organised a ‘consultation’ in 2002 of experts from around the world to develop an international approach to the presence of acrylamide in food. The consultation called for an international effort to share information as part of the ongoing investigations. It also provided advice to consumers and the food industry to minimise whatever risk exists: avoid cooking food excessively, moderate consumption of fried and fatty foods and eat a balanced and varied diet.

What is FSANZ currently doing about acrylamide?

While it appears that we have been living with acrylamide in our food for generations, and there is no evidence that the amounts present in carbohydrate-based foods are harmful to humans, it is clearly undesirable to have such a chemical in our food.

FSANZ has urged the adoption by industry of the ‘Acrylamide toolbox’ produced by the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the European Union, recently updated in December 2007 (version 10). This toolbox has been developed to assist food manufacturers to use the most current research appropriate for their products and manufacturing processes to reduce the formation of acrylamide.

FSANZ is also currently progressing two Applications seeking approval of enzymes that reduce the formation of acrylamide in cereal-based foods, bread, potato flour based products and savoury ingredients. In addition, FSANZ is a participant in an electronic working group for the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food which is progressing a Draft Code of Practice (COP) for the reduction of acrylamide in food.

In summary, we have kept a watching brief on international developments regarding acrylamide, undertaken an assessment of the dietary exposure of Australian consumers to acrylamide and are progressing with Applications that will assist in reducing acrylamide level in specific foods. We will continue to work with other national governments to better understand the potential health risk from exposure to acrylamide in the diet.

We continue to recommend that consumers should eat a balanced diet containing a range of healthy foods (including a broad range of fruit and vegetables), and to limit high fat and fried foods, as much as possible.

February 2008