Acrylamide: IFT calls for calm
potential carcinogen acrylamide could be present in high-heated,
starchy foods, scientific and government bodies the world over are
seeking to calm the consumer.
Since Swedish scientists revealed earlier this year that the potential carcinogen acrylamide could be present in high-heated, starchy foods, scientific and government bodies the world over are seeking to calm the consumer.
This week the US Institute of Food Technologists issued a statement claiming that "consumers do not need to fear acrylamide … as long as they maintain a well-balanced diet." The IFT stressed that consumers should remain calm until conclusions can be properly formulated.
One key outcome of an urgent meeting of scientists called by the World Health Organisation in Geneva in June was the absolute need to carry out more research into the potential formation of the carcinogen acrylamide in fried foods.
IFT food science expert Carl Winter, a professor at the University of California at Davis, re-iterated the WHO findings and professed the need for careful study of the acrylamide connection tofood.
"The most important thing is not the presence or absence of any type ofingredient, but how much is there," said Winter. "There will always be some risks associated with eating anyfoods," he stressed.
IFT food science expert Mary Ellen Camire, a professor of food science andhuman nutrition at the University of Maine, contends that the immensenutritional benefits of grains and potatoes offset any minusculecontaminants they may also contain.
"We eat a lot of unusual chemicals but that's what food is, a complexmixture of chemicals," said Camire. "What's important is getting a balanceof what's best."
The IFT said in a statement that the important areas for future research were dietary exposure levels, toxicological and metabolic consequences and learning how acrylamide is formed from natural components.
